I recently discovered my adoration of painting.

Art has always been something I have enjoyed; ever since I could fit a crayon into my balled up fists, I wanted to tell stories. Before I could even write, I made a whole book. My brother — who is older by almost three years — took their art very seriously. He started to develop his fantasy worlds in great depth and I thought he was the coolest person in the whole world. So, I too took to taking myself seriously. All the while, he was my biggest helper and fiercest critic. I grew and grew. He got a drawing tablet, I fell in love with it and soon I had my own. I began experimenting with bright colors, depth and all sorts of new things. By this time I was about thirteen. My brother was better, they knew so much more. Especially in the world of graphite. I wanted to take my whirl at that again. I worked and worked, getting better every day, even if I didn’t notice.

I excelled in art class, I was the prize student. Top of the top, best of the best, at least in my class. Then I took up higher level art and art history in my fourth year at the gymnasium. My skill level was matched and ever surpassed by a couple classmates. It was fun, frustrating at times but fun. I was enthralled by the class; with a little group, I worked to create a museum worthy piece that hung on the walls in a real life exhibition for about a month or so in December of 2022. People came and saw something I had worked on in a respected museum. I was fifteen.

Then I started to explore painting and made my first big artwork. I hated it. Through the years I had built my skills in watercolor artwork, but painting with acrylic paints… that was new, and I still needed to learn, My skin was about five shades too dark and my hair about three shades too light. The painting hung in the school library for a year.

Through my art history classes I gained an appreciation for more abstract art. I saw beauty in landscapes as always, but felt the more absurd pieces much more deeply. So, when it came time to make my next painting, I leant into the expressionistic elements I had found within me; not everything had to make sense. I made a bigger painting than before; two figures standing in front of a red splotch. One of my favorite pieces to date.

This year is my final year at the gymnasium, it is almost over. I am making my last painting for my art class. It is my biggest yet, on a real canvas. I am combining all of my newly acquired knowledge and making it into something really special. This is going to be big; it’s going to be an important one. My love for painting has only grown and I sometimes consider trying to get my art into a museum again. It makes me think of getting out into the world. I am still very young and full of hope; I think I will make it big if I try. All I know now is that I recently discovered my adoration of painting, and there’s no turning back.

I’M 18!! LET’S GOOOOOOO!!!!! 🎉🪩🎊💃

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