Join Email List for exclusive access & FREE Shipping with orders $250+
Painting — my ultimate refuge in tough times — had slipped out of my reach. I was devastated that I could not paint what I could see so clearly in my head. There wasn’t a single drop of paint on my paper, even after holding my paintbrush for hours.
I didn’t try to paint again for months because I was heartbroken that I couldn’t anymore. Instead, I focused on the things I could do: pray, take baths, meditate through the pain, take short walks, imagine recovery, laugh, cry, and wait.
People surrounded me with literally hundreds of hugs, rides, meals, phone calls, prayers, and help doing what I couldn’t do for myself. I was unable to read, focus, work, remember, problem solve, drive, cook, play, watch TV / movies, listen to music / audio, text, nor communicate to others the amount of extreme pain I was in—words became stuck in my head.
Someone finally convinced me to paint — trash I planned on throwing away. I ripped my paper into 4 small pieces because I didn’t want to waste valuable watercolor paper on garbage.
Fortunately, I didn’t throw these paintings away. What I had considered “trash” became treasured nuggets of small progress.
Something magical happened as I allowed myself to be creative in ways I had never dreamed of. At first, I could only drop paint onto the paper. It took me multiple days to paint what used to take me 15 minutes to accomplish. I needed patience, persistence, and flexibility to allow my creativity to exist.
This watercolor took me many days to do what used to take me less than an hour. Finishing this painting was a complete miracle that I could paint what I had envisioned in my mind. Miracles are real & small progress is a big deal.
I couldn’t hike the mountains but I could imagine being in the mountains. I painted in the dark and couldn’t see the colors I was mixing because of severe light sensitivity.
It is my hope to change the way people view mental health and brain injuries/diseases by sharing my story of hope and healing through watercolors. Increased awareness leads to understanding, connection, and kindness.
My Paintings tell a story of hope, heart, and healing.
See Differently Collection
Flooded With Joy Collection (Coming Soon)
My paintings tell a story of hope, heart, and healing. Every purchase from Artsy Paint is a way to send hope to someone else. A portion of proceeds will be donated towards brain health initiatives. Also, your purchase can make a difference in my personal life as I’m living with a Traumatic Brain Injury myself.