Caroline Bryant
Features Editor
In 2018, UCF linebacker Aaron Evans thought he had achieved every collegiate football player’s dream: making it to the big leagues.
Towering at 6’5″ and weighing 307 lbs., Evans was the stereotypical “big dude” born for the NFL. Being naturally gifted at the sport, he knew football was what he had to do. But once he was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles, he realized he was wrong all along.
“I was pretty depressed when I was in the NFL,” Evans said. “The lifestyle was kind of destroying me. The alcoholism. The girls. The fame. A lot of things like that and it was kind of eating me alive. I was miserable and I hated who I was and I wanted peace in my life.”
So when the Eagles cut him after his first season, he took advantage of the opportunity to pursue something different. He would pick up a paintbrush, fall instantly in love when the brush hit the paper, and decide that this was something he had to do for the rest of his life: “it kind of just happened.”
He had no prior experience with art, aside from the average Saturday afternoon arts and crafts time with his mom during his childhood. He used to sketch in his free time, but he explained it was never something he was committed to.
But a call from the Kansas City Chiefs asking him to join their team teased him. Should he return to his old life or start a future for his new one in art? The phone call made him “sick to [his] stomach.”
Praying for a sign about what to do, Evans received a call from a family friend. In that call, she asked him, “how can you do more in art than you ever did in football?”
He rejected the offer immediately after hearing those words.
Thus, he moved to Lakeland with his wife and made it his goal to study art. His subject of choice was color theory, mesmerized by how satisfying liquid paints blended to form a new shade on the canvas.
After practicing his skills for a bit, he received jobs in mural painting. While his jobs mostly come from word-of-mouth, he’s partnered with his alma mater’s football stadium to paint four murals, completed a mural for WWE superstar Titus O’Neal, Tampa’s SoHo area, local schools and all across the country.
“I’m all over. I will go anywhere and everywhere,” Evans said.
When he’s not on the job, he teaches a Paint Your Heart Out art therapy class for non-profit and private organizations. His main partners include Gospel Inc. in Lakeland and the Veterans Center in Tampa, aiding mainly trauma and PTSD victims.
“I kind of structured it after a meditation practice I had when I didn’t know what to draw,” Evans said. “Essentially, we pick colors that represent the emotional state of being you’re in and kind of discuss why you chose those colors, what were the thoughts going through your head. I ask people to share with the class, and I’ll be pretty vulnerable about my story, sharing stuff and just having a nice time together.”
While Evans said he “doesn’t have it all figured out,” he loves sharing healing techniques he learned to utilize for himself during the rough patch between football and his new career.
“I was very angry all the time and I was very bitter all the time and I had a lot of resentment and I see that in a lot of other people,” Evans said. “It’s learning how to tell your story well and learning how to get in touch with your emotions and how to get in touch with your younger self, your 7-year-old self– or honestly the youngest version of yourself that you can remember– and allow yourself to love that version of yourself into maturity and heal all the wounds that you were never taught how to heal.”
Throughout each session, Evans watches his little caterpillars evolve into butterflies, growing into a person who can accept and love themselves for who they are. He explains that being a part of their experience is so rewarding and is the reason why he paints.
“That’s where my heart is actually the most in… I think it’s really important to see people and see them well,” Evans said. “The reason I paint is to connect with people, I view art as a vessel to connect with people. It really opens a lot of doors and bridges a lot of divides that normal channels don’t really do… and I want them to know that they’re loved and that they’re seen.”
Evans wants to expand that dream by opening an all-inclusive multi-purpose studio space and coffee shop for people to sit, relax and paint– which would fit in with Lakeland’s creative, funky vibe.
Aside from the studio, he also wants to depict Biblical war stories in anime style, hoping to highlight God’s message while using the violent elements of anime to make it more enticing to readers.
No matter what path he takes, Evans will be content with his art and himself. While he calls himself a “rookie” in the field, he is a master at spreading positivity throughout his community.
