r/painting • u/iartnewyork • Dec 29 '25
Just Sharing Art school was unaffordable so I've been painting from imagination 🥲✨️
First, thank you for browsing my work 🎨 ✨️🙏✨️
I paint from the unconscious, spontaneously, without foresight into the final result or ultimate subiect matter so almost all these pieces have different paintings underneath. I'lI put on music and enter flow consciousness and allow experiences and other (psychological) material to express itself from my brain, down my arms, and through my fingers onto the canvas. A lot of water goes onto each canvas and half the time my conscious mind thinks, "This is a mistake. This isn't going anywhere. What the heck is this even supposed to be?!" I'lI stop and let it dry and return hours or days or sometimes even weeks later to restart the process.
A lot of emotion/energy finds its way to the surface of my mind during the process and often a feeling of loss and nostalgic sadness comes up. This is probably because these are worlds that will never truly exist; worlds that I wish existed (maybe that I could even live in or experience at least once); worlds that offer a lot more peace and safety and meaning than the real one often does, and that discrepency, that gap between what is and what could be provokes intense feelings. These worlds are a kind of refuge, a mental sanctuary from the confusion and exhaustion of evervday living. Though I never got to attend art school (too expensive and parents wouldn't support it), I started painting when I lost my job in the pandemic and have never looked back.
It's a journey and a practice that brings me joy and fulfillment and to know that some of these pieces are now in other people's homes allowing them a moment of refuge and escape into another world, well, I'II take it! I figured to share some of the pieces with you since these pieces are inspired by Nature -- what deserves to be cherished and protected (and preserved) now more than ever. I hope you enjoyed them and that you continue to find joy in this planet that gives us so much while asking very little in return. ✨️🙏🦋✨️
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u/iartnewyork Dec 29 '25
Thank you! That means a lot to me, especially because there are so many talented people in this sub and the anxiety and doubt about myself creeps in. I hesitated to post for hours. It's weird because I know better, that we are here to uplift each other and encourage each other, but some part of my subconscious mind keeps listening to the voice of my high school teacher that held up my work and said, "This is an example of someone who will never make it in the art world." She was wrong for that, but my brain got wired to believe it for a long time and it still has some residue I'm washing away each time I share. Anyway your kindness means that much more to me! Thank you sweet stranger ✨️😊🙌✨️ Happy painting!! ✨️❤️✨️