Desperation Painting

"Desperation" 27" x 23.75" Oil on Wood 2018 The second painting in my "Defeated" series, "Desperation" Hello, I'd like to tell you a little bit about myself and this painting. I'm a self-taught artist who learned to paint so that I could become a better person. In comparison, before my obsessive studying of realism art, I didn't think too highly of myself. The mental illness, feeling overwhelmed, stuck, defeated, hopeless - the many unsatisfactory emotions - all started to subside after I found a way that actually improved my state of being. Painting allowed me to surround myself with beauty and forced to me grow. Then that woman I thought I left behind came creeping back. There wasn't much to do but accept that she was a part of me. Anxiety started to well up inside of me, I thought I'd revert back to my old way of thinking. The best way to combat my fear was to express myself and hang what I thought was the most accurate depiction of what I felt on the wall. The process of creating the art itself was cathartic but upon completion, I felt a great sense of relief. I truly believe anyone can look at the painting and project their own feelings of anxiety, hopelessness, and the like onto it. Because it's it on the wall you can see the feelings from a new perspective. Imagine looking at yourself from outside of a window when you're feeling your worst. What would you tell that person to do? How would you tell that person to act? How would you tell that person to stand up and start again? It's easy to have these answers when we see it in others. This is what this painting is for: To see those emotions from a new perspective and be able to make a positive change. Art is like that. Thank goodness it is! Thank you so much for taking the time to try to connect to this piece. It means the world to me. Serenity