Hi! I'm Patty. I know what you are thinking. Wow...Patty's a pretty good painter for her age. I was once in my booth at an art festival and a little girl came in and saw my work and asked me if I did it all by myself. I said, "Yes I did", and she exclaimed, "Mom...look she did these all by herself"!! And her mother, with a twinkle in her eye, turned and said to me, " You did a good job" and the little girl nodded in agreement. I think she saw me as a peer. Somehow that interaction always stayed with me.
I am so happy when I paint. I feel like that little girl. I get to paint pictures 'all by myself'. As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be an artist. But, my father, having lived through the Great Depression, discouraged me from pursuing art because he didn't want his little girl to grow up and become a starving artist. And, I can't blame him. Food is really important to us Italians!!
I listened to my dad and shelved my artistic desires and pursued a business degree instead. After years in the corporate world, I finally picked up art again as a hobby and I was transported back to being this little girl.
Painting is FUN. I really want to use it to honor God first and foremost. I remember reading a quote from Eric Liddell, the great Olympian that inspired the movie, Chariots of Fire. He said, "God made me for a purpose and He made me fast and when I run I feel His pleasure." When I paint I feel God's pleasure. And to paraphrase it, I feel God's sense of fun.
I hope you enjoy my work. And I hope you are doing what you are created to do and enjoying the simple pleasure of being the person you were created to be.
Cheers! Patty