They both have their messy moments, and they both have their beautiful moments. The only downside is how long it took me to discover the reason, lol, but that’s life, just like a painting in its questionable stage. Self-discovery is the main reason I paint to remind you and myself to enjoy life’s beauty that surrounds us in nature, in laughter, and in our friendships. 

Where inspiration is whispered… and beauty is created

For a couple of years, I allowed people to tell me what I could do in my life and what I should avoid, whether it be my looks, how I dressed, how I talked, how my dreams were too big, or how I acted, etc. You name it, I probably had someone telling me what to do in that area of my life, except for painting. 

Painting is the one area of my life, where I refuse to let anyone else’s opinions follow me into the studio or spill out onto the canvas. Whenever I picked up a brush loaded with paint it was just me, my music and my inspiration creating, and chocolate. 

Yes, I admit it was foolish of me to allow others to dictate how I should live, but somewhere in the messy middle of my artistic journey, it all came together. I could see the colors were no longer dull, they were growing in vibrancy and I began to open up, allowing my light to shine bright. There are still days when the light appears dim at the end of the tunnel but I know deep inside if I give life and the canvas a little more time, it will shine bright with a breathtaking result. It’s this heart-stopping moment when I declare a painting complete that the feelings of joy and love bubble up from deep inside. This messy journey of self-discovery and finding the finished painting the canvas wants to reveal is a journey and a reminder to trust in myself, trust the dreams in my heart, and trust the process of creating. Yet, the grand finale sits on my easel in all its breathtaking beauty.