Chris Brown On Painting, Charity and “Uplifting Humanity”

You may have noticed, but Chris Brown doesn’t exactly generate a wave of positive press. Part of that is his own fault, obviously, but he has moments where the more positive aspects of his life are highlighted. In the latest issue of Prestige magazine, Breezy opens up about his love of painting, his charitable work, and how he’s all about “uplifting humanity.”

On his love of painting:
“I’ve been painting secretly since I was a kid. A lot of people didn’t know that it was my hobby. I focused on doing the bad stuff at first with graffiti and vandalizing. But as you get older, you start studying art books and sketchbooks in the libraries. I started getting better, like maybe three or four years ago. I met Ron English and Kid Zoom [Ian Strange] and they were just teaching me different techniques for painting. So my art started growing and I started doing it on my own. I finally got people to recognize it and I did a couple of art galleries – one in LA and one in New York – and I sold four out of my seven paintings. You know, I’m new. But my feet are in the water and that’s all it takes. I don’t think I want to conquer painting. It’s just something I love to do.”

On his charitable work with St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital and Best Buddies:

“I’ve been involved with [those] since I was 15, 16. It’s not about recognition, because that’s not what satisfies me. The satisfaction is people that are getting helped or are benefiting from whatever I donate, whatever I contribute to their lives. I don’t like it to be publicized. If there are cameras around, it’s cool. But I do it from the heart. When I go on TV and do my videos, that’s the artist Chris Brown. But when I go and do [charity work] it’s just me – it’s just Christopher.”

On his foundation Symphonic Love: