Stalactite Painting

It all started with a wine and paint party at work the day before Thanksgiving in 2017. I painted this terrible sunset on the beach; I propped it next to my desk and considered it an "at least I tried" effort. But after looking at my painting every day for a couple of weeks, I became curious about how to make it better. I turned to the most accessible teacher in the world - YouTube. My Secret Santa that year gave me some painting supplies, and over the winter break I practiced some more and slowly started becoming more confident. About that time, my son Nick who is on the autism spectrum was struggling socially in school; my husband and I focused most of our time on helping him. Whatever free time I had, I spent painting. It was therapeutic; painting centered me and helped me be a more supportive and loving mom. Nick was my art critic, and he was never afraid to give "constructive" criticism! My artwork started taking up a lot of space on my workstation. My colleagues were very encouraging and complimented me on my new hobby. My boss suggested I start selling my work - after all, sales and coupons aside, art supplies are still expensive. After some prodding I decided to post some pieces on Facebook Marketplace and made it known at work that my work was for sale. To my surprise, my work actually started selling! I was thrilled - I didn't charge much, but the mere fact that someone (several someones!) actually wanted to purchase my paintings was so gratifying and amazing. I started calling myself an artist! Over the next year, I continued to paint and loved every minute of it. A few months ago, I participated in a local art show here in San Diego and met an emerging artist, who invited me to join an art group. One meeting with the group was all it took for me to open an Etsy store, enter my painting in an art festival, and create a Facebook page devoted to my art - CK Art Creations. It's wonderful to be among fellow artists who experience the same joys and the same struggles. We encourage each other, share our tips and tricks, highs and lows. I'm so very grateful to have found an outlet for my creativity - which I didn't even know I had. I'm also grateful to my husband for indulging my passion and not complaining about my art taking up most of the dining table and part of the kitchen while I dream of having an art studio.