A history of my Art

My mother won't confirm this, but I believe I was born with a pencil in my hand. The need to re-create everything I saw around me has always been strong. I used to get in trouble with my mom because I always used up my school paper to draw on.

I'm relatively new at painting. Paintbrushes always seemed alien in my hand, unlike my trusty No. 2. I felt like I had little control over where the paint decided to flow. This is difficult for a control-freak like me.

The only reason I ever picked up a paintbrush was because my friend Toni asked me to paint something. I can't even remember what it was, but it was probably something ridiculous that she found on the side of the road. Toni is the queen of creating art out of junk. She knew I was pretty good with a pencil so she figured I must be good with a paintbrush as well.

I've lost count of how many things I've painted for Toni (from bowls to breadboxes), but the practice was perfect. One day, my sister Flor gave me some 16 X 20 canvas that she was getting rid of. I think I contemplated it for months, and then one day, I got brave!

The first painting I did on canvas was a gift for my husband, Father's day I think. It portrayed three of his favorite things: his UTSA baseball cap, his trusty flashlight and his remote control. I have to admit, I was stunned at how accurately I painted them. I've always had an abnormal eye for detail, but the fact that I was able to capture it with a paintbrush of all things, truly astonished me. The funny part is that I used craft paints, you know the kind you buy at the hobby stores in a bottle.

My second painting was a still life of a pitcher of flowers and a straw hat, again using craft paints.

Then last year I decided to sign up for an Acrylics class through local community education. I finally was introduced to real Acrylic paints, in a tube!! To date I've painted over 10 paintings on canvas and can safely say I feel almost as comfortable with a paintbrush in hand as a pencil, almost!