Sakura-Tachibanna

When I was a kid, I used to watch a lot of shows on PBS. Some of my favorites were Seasame Street, Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood and Reading Rainbow. But the one show I watched almost every day was The Joy of Painting with Bob Ross.

Bob was somehow able to connect to his viewers in a way that almost no other live show television host could. As a kid though, I just enjoyed watching him paint pretty pictures. I didn’t own a painting set back then, so instead I would take a pencil and a piece of notebook paper and doodle what he was painting on the screen. I was never any good at drawing and I still cannot draw to this day. But back then, during that brief window of 30 minutes every day, I could just draw and pretend that I was Bob and let my imagination go.

It was just pure coincidence that I began my own art journey on a rainy night, six years ago in October. I was watching Bob paint a powerful nature scene with lightning and storms and I decided that I want to do that too! So I picked up my iPad and downloaded a free art program. I doodled an abstract with a bunch of squiggly blue lines- representing clouds and lightning. I named the doodle “Eye of the Storm”.

Little did I know at the time that that one doodle would become the first of hundreds of pieces of art that I would publish over the next six years.

Looking back six years I can say that my hobby has evolved beyond the art itself. It has changed me and has made me a better person. Artists are naturally creative in their thinking, but I’ve also learned that that creative left-brain has opened the doors for me to see the world in a whole new light. I’ve become more tolerant, calm, and patient. I’ve become more open and accepting of diversity and inclusion. I’ve learned to see the beauty in people who are not afraid to be themselves in public and express themselves through their own unique sense of style and dress.

When I look at something nice, my first thought is always “can I make a piece of art out of this??” Internally, I’ve been more willing to take risks and to put myself out there in ways I never thought would be possible. All of a sudden, “different” has become interesting and the ordinary is just plain boring.

My life has literally changed for the better and it’s all because of one little doodle…and Mr. Bob Ross. My teacher, my idol, and my gatekeeper to a creative world.

So with all that being said, I’d like to commemorate six years of my joy of art, as I present to you a piece that I call The Chronograph. A fitting piece to celebrate my journey as an artist and a free thinker.