Summer Storm

This is a very special painting that is dedicated to everyone who's been supporting me and my artwork. I've never been very good at communicating so this is just my own little way of saying "Thank You." Without everyone's support I don't think I would be able to continue as an artist.

I can still remember when I first started painting and it's hard to believe that it's now been two whole years since I first began painting during the summer of 2015. It all began towards the end of my junior year of high school that year after I had accidentally discovered what I could do with a paintbrush during an art project I was working on for my art class.

It was 2015, junior year, and the school year was starting to come to an end. As you can imagine, classes were finally getting wrapped up for the year, teachers were getting more laid back, and everyone was obviously very excited and anticipating the coming summer break. Although, there was still a little bit of time before the school year finally ended. So for our final project in my art class, the teacher decided to have everyone paint something on a vary large square thin piece of plywood. I don't  remember exactly what we were supposed to do but I remember from my impression of it that the objective was something along the lines of everyone having to paint something abstract on their one large sheet of plywood. It seemed simple enough and since the sheets of plywood we all got were so big I was kind of excited to be able to have so much space to work with.

I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to paint so I remember I looked around the art room hoping to find some inspiration from somewhere and, lucky for me, it did! I took a good look around the art room and I remember my eyes fell on a large Starry Night painting that was hanging on the back wall of the classroom and I was looking at all the swirls of colors that made up the night sky in the painting so I decided that I wanted to try doing something like that.

When I was ready to begin actually the painting I actually didn't have a citron idea in mind that I wanted the painting to look like. I simply just chose some paint that I liked and I decided to just let everything flow and let the painting become what it was going to be on it's own naturally. I wasn't focusing on anything specifically. I was just experimenting to see what I could do with the paint and I really enjoyed it.

Eventually, when everyone's projects were all done, all the paintings were then displayed at the school. I really enjoyed creating my piece and I remember I felt very proud of what I was able to do with some paint and a large canvas. I've never been very good at realism and I had tried for a very long time to draw things that looked real but with not much success. Although, there was just something about being abstract for a change that made me feel like I had hit something. There was something about using a paintbrush and creating something abstract that really resonated with me so I decided to give it another try and see what I could do if I did it again.

So eventually this lead to my very first painting I named, Aqua, which I soon gave to my grandmother as a gift to brighten up her dreadfully dull room at the nursing home and, since her passing, it's become somewhat of a family heirloom.

Over the years, despite people telling me how good my artwork was, I never really thought my art was that good but because I loved being creative I never gave up on art. Although now, all because of that one art project, it's as if I was able to unlock an entirely new door. For the first time, I felt as if I could actually make my artwork speak and say something meaningful in a voice of it's own. After I finished my first painting, Aqua, I knew that I wanted to do more with this. So when the school year ended that year, I immediately made the commitment to spend my entire summer that year pursuing what I could do with my artwork. Thanks to my art teacher I was allowed to be given four canvases, which I was genuinely grateful for, and by the end of the summer my goal was to have something on each of them. Counting the two smaller canvases I already had, which I guess could equal one canvas, I had five canvases in total for me to work with that summer and I couldn't wait to begin a new series of paintings, which I have gladly still continued to this day.

That first painting I did on a large piece of plywood has come to mean a lot me and, strangely enough, I still have that painting and I like to keep it around as a reminder of what you can do and discover if you get out of your comfort zone a little and try something different. I used to believe art was about being realistic and making something look as real as possible but since all this happened I've began to learn more and more about what art both is and can can be. It's really difficult to define what exactly art is but something that can be said about art is that art is not just about realism. It's whatever you create. It's about creativity, imagination, expression, and many other things that I'm sure could also be said.

The point is, finding something you love and that you're passionate about can take time but it also helps if you're willing to do things a little bit differently also instead of sticking with what you're familiar with. Change comes by doing things differently. Not by doing things the same way over and over again.

I think I've come a long way on my journey as an artist and it's still hard to believe that the work I do can have such a positive impact on other people. I've gotten so many compliments from so many people over the past two years since I began all this about my artwork and how much people enjoy them that I truly feel that it is a distinct honor to be able to the opportunity to have an impact on other people's lives like this. So with summer drawing nearer, I've decided to celebrate the anniversary of this wonderful journey with everyone by creating this painting which I have named, "Summer Storm."

This painting is dedicated to everyone who's been supporting me and my artwork and I just wanted to give back to everyone by creating this painting to let everyone know how truly grateful I am. It's because of everyone's wonderful support that I'm able to continue what I do as an artist so this is just my own little way of saying "thank you," to everyone who's been supporting me. It honestly is the support that I get from each and every person that fills me with the determination, perseverance, and inspiration I need to keep  doing what I do as an artist.

About the painting itself, while I was painting this I was think a lot about summer. It's been feeling really great out side lately and the weather has been almost perfect. When I began to paint this, I remember how the afternoon sunlight was shining through my windows at the time. Outside my window, the light shined down through the trees and made the leaves glow and turn emerald outside my window, while I could hear the light breeze outside blowing through the leaves and making the light almost appear to dance as it shined through my window. It was a very calm, peaceful, and serene feeling and I was filled this feeling as I made this entire painting over the course of a few days so that's why I had the idea to name this piece summer storm. Although, as I though about the coming summer and the anniversary of when I began painting, I thought it was kind of strange fitting the named seemed to be. Originally, when I thought of the name "Summer Storm," I had the idea of a storm of all the good things and feelings about summer (instead of a very humid storm that takes place during the season of summer) but I think it's funny how it could also mean taking the summer by storm much like I did in 2015. I just thought that was an interesting observation worth noting.

The school year is almost over, summer break is coming, and there are plenty of things to be happy about. I hope everyone has a great summer. More paintings to come soon and most importantly...

"Take the summer by storm."

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Title: Summer Storm

Medium: Acrylic Paint
Year: 2017

Original Painting: For Sale