do old habits really die hard?
“eh, maybe if you hit it hard on the head, scooby doo style haha.”
sometimes going backwards into old habits
an edition set of 10 digital artworks.
“I have been the calculated jockey ”
prancing among the racing horses in this world.
I have been the silence in the echo chamber.
I have been the chipped record on the turntable,
the son near an angel.
But it is time, it is time.
Shame is knocking at my door,
wearing its constricting reins of leather.
Life, my decadence, admit it.
“I used to be extremely hard on myself over this.”
Anything outside of a “good” habit felt enormously heavy. Six, 45 lbs plates on a sweaty bench press at the local Plant Fitness kind of heavy. The mere thought of performing an action outside of studying or church, sent a cold snap down my spine. I was ready to kiss my “predetermined” future goodnight as if it would never wake up from it’s eternal slumber.
In a dramatic tone, something changed.
I simply got older and my pinhole perspective got bigger. For so long, I equated a bad habit into the worse of the worse. Something as calm as wanting cookies before bed, felt as if I was pushing my life into a downwards spiral. I wrapped myself in a quilted blanket of shame. Whether it was rational or irrational, somewhere deep down I was afraid to even bring the smallest of habits into the limelight.
Funnily enough,
I can’t stop talking over all of my quirks in my young adult years. There is a sense of camaraderie, in building friendships with people that really understand you — accepting you for who you are. Even more-so when crafting your chosen family and village.
Some of the ones I bring to light are,
I prefer to eat the outer edges of the cake before eating the middle section.
I have to clean in the morning before work. I can’t focus as well if I know that I forgot a dirty dish.
I have to hang up my paintings in my home before thinking about sending them to market.
I unconsciously have a habit of rubbing my knees when I get too full hahaha
Some of my less than attractive habits are,
I won’t finish the last episode or final level of the game, if I don’t have a couple of hours afterwards for a post completion deep dive.
I’ll eat poorly or not at all if I’m too stressed.
I’ll keep my feelings to myself I felt like I needed to repeat myself more than 3 times.
“Well what does this work mean to you?”
In this latest edition, I created from the viewpoint of not only falling back into old habits in my personal life, but within the realm of my creativity.
Here the character is reflected riding a horse backwards on it’s saddle. The multi-colored horse springs forwards, charging head-first into what’s to come. Though strangely enough, the hair on the head of the figure travels in line with the body and not the flow of energy from the horse. This is a intentional contrast between the figure and the surround elements — depicting this warzone of a push and pull battle between action and intention from their habits. Also to note, there are some elements of Americana, in the sparkler, red solo cup and flowing flag, in reference to the artists upbringing.
My practice, is a culmination of everything I’ve learned up to the present moment — in our digital age, it’s the expectation to constantly craft new ideas as a creative. It’s a draining process that I have the privilege to deal with.
Yet I still have so much love for those older ideas.
Why do I need to immediately cast them to the side?
To me, sometimes going backwards into old habits, reflects the iconography that I loved so much in the past. Making use of techniques learned the initial release of those ideas, and transforming them into the elevated versions of themselves. I get a little sparkle in my eye, being able to see past common images of mine turned into something more beautiful than the last.
“So where is this painting now?”
It’s safely housed in the vaults of 10 unique collectors. (With one secondary sale as of 07-03-2025)
About the Artist
Shareon “Bhare” Blenman is a multidisciplinary artist based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Born in 1998 to Barbadian immigrant parents, Bhare initially pursued a career as a chef before transitioning into the art world. His diverse practice encompasses traditional canvas work, digital oil paintings, sculptures, and even ventures into skateboarding design.
Bhare earned his undergraduate degree from Johnson & Wales University, balancing various creative jobs during the early stages of the global lockdown. By the age of 23, his work had already been showcased in traditional and digital galleries across North America and Europe. He has exhibited in more than three professional galleries and sold over 30 pieces in his debut year.
Now at 26, Bhare has been featured extensively in a magazine, completed a 40-foot commission for the Spectrum Center, and even had his work sold through Sotheby’s.
Bhare currently lives and works in Charlotte, North Carolina. He merges his work through both traditional and digital styles, exhibiting with prestigious galleries in New York, Pennsylvania, Los Angeles, Copenhagen and most recently Toronto.