…I didn’t pick up a paintbrush for ten years!!

Even then, when I picked up a paintbrush, it was just for my own sanity. That voice within me needed to create and I was finally ready to listen. The time between art school and this season was VERY FULL. Manly with the birth of my twin boys who kept me very busy.

In 2016, my marriage had just ended. I had a six month old baby and I was enrolled in school studying to become a legal assistant.

I would put my three boys down for bed at night, walk down to the basement, and stay up late on the computer working through my studies.

My thoughts were stuck in a loop of negativity about my past, about my future, and about the trauma I had just been through. I was TERRIFIED.

How would I support my kids? How could I possibly do it all and be a loving mother to my children? What would their futures look and feel like?

Everything within me told me to stop what I was doing and start doing the the thing I was always meant to: pursue my art as a career.

I had so many people tell me I was crazy. That it wasn’t possible. That I needed security.

I blindly took the leap. I had no idea what I was doing. I knew I could paint, but that was about it.

I wish I could tell you that everything worked out, I was able to support my family solely on my art, and all of our problems were solved, but that hasn’t happened quite yet. I’ve worked really hard to be in the place I am right now.

There’s this meditative state that you enter into when you’re creating a work of art. Your mind is required to focus on the things in front of you. On the shape and colour and dimension of the artwork. It allows you to remove all external thoughts from your mind and focus solely on just one thing.

I invested the time and energy necessary to value creativity in my life, and it saved me.

My artistic journey has just begun, but I can already tell that this is a story of perseverance, and hope.

Thank you for joining me on my journey.

xo,

Rebecca