When I first picked up a brush and dipped it into oil paint, I didn’t know it would become such a transformative part of my life. As someone who has always been drawn to creative expression, I initially explored various mediums—charcoal, graphite, digital tools—but it wasn’t until I began working with oil paint that something truly clicked.
It all started in college. I took my first painting class just for fun, not expecting it to change the trajectory of my creative life. At first, it was rough. I constantly felt like I wasn’t good enough, like I didn’t belong in that studio space. My professor, however, saw something in me and pushed me to be better. The assignments were intense, demanding hours of focused work, and I found myself staying late just to get them right. What started as something I had to do soon turned into something I craved.
Before I knew it, I was spending my Friday and Saturday nights in the studio—paintbrush in hand, headphones over my ears, and the world outside fading away. Music became my guide. Each track influenced my brushstrokes, my color choices, the entire mood of the canvas. It was in those late-night sessions, surrounded by the quiet hum of fluorescent lights and the smell of turpentine, that I really fell in love with painting.
Oil painting challenged me in ways no other medium had. The slow drying time forced me to slow down, to be intentional with every stroke. I learned patience. I learned to live in the process rather than rush to the result. There’s a richness in oil paint—the way it blends, the depth it brings to color, the texture it leaves on the canvas—that I haven’t found anywhere else. It’s forgiving and demanding all at once.
At first, I was intimidated by the technical aspects—understanding mediums, mixing colors, managing drying times. But over time, I grew more confident. I began experimenting, layering, and learning to embrace the happy accidents. My early pieces were explorative, often abstract and emotional, reflecting the uncertainty and energy of someone finding their voice.
Many of my paintings are inspired directly from my photography, captured during my travels around the world. I use my camera to document fleeting moments—sunsets over distant mountains, quiet alleyways in foreign cities, faces and expressions that linger in my memory—and later reinterpret them on canvas through oil paint. This process allows me to relive those experiences and explore them more deeply through texture, color, and form. Painting from my photography adds another layer of meaning to my work; it’s not just about recreating what I saw, but expressing what I felt in those moments.
Oil painting became more than a medium for me; it became a mirror. My canvas started to reflect not just what I saw, but how I felt. Over time, I noticed themes of solitude, resilience, and transition showing up in my work—especially as I processed personal growth, identity, and the spaces I’ve called home.
One of the most powerful aspects of working with oil paint is how it invites me to be present. Mixing colors by hand, building up layers, watching the paint evolve over hours and days—it’s meditative. It’s grounding. It’s become a place where I can disconnect from the noise of the world and reconnect with myself.
Now, years into this journey, oil painting remains one of the most personal and meaningful parts of my creative life. I continue to learn and evolve with each canvas, and I welcome the unknowns that come with every new piece. Painting with oil has taught me not only how to create, but how to feel more deeply, how to observe more closely, and how to honor the process—on and off the canvas.
