The "Beginning"

I have been calling myself an artist for as long as I can remember (actually, I didn't start until others started saying so)… and even though I would love to write about my childhood more in the future, for now I‘ll just say I was nowhere near as educated as I am now about the arts.

Yet, I still considered myself an artist. Why? Well, because I made original art. I was creating.

Creating is my passion. I absolutely love oil painting, but as long as I am creating something, I feel a sense of purpose. And that feeling brings me peace.

When I paint, the rest of the world just fades and what I am left with is determination, inspiration, purpose. I haven’t always felt this passionate about art though. As a child it was something I did for fun, and usually took form of a sketch in my school notebooks. I wasn’t thinking about my technique or skill level. I was simply bored.

More recently, I have been trying to learn and grow as an artist-really thinking about my process, experimenting and practicing. Art is the thing I’ve been doing the longest and I have always loved every minute of the creation process.

Here, I would like to share more in-depth stories/ideas, behind the scenes, critiques and other news.

My next post will feature my current project, a detailed 5”x7” oil painting of my cat, Mittens, on panel. I also plan on sharing more of my story in the future as well as details about some of my favorite paintings I have completed.

In the meantime, you can follow me on Instagram (@artbynicolegriffin) to stay updated on my other creative projects!