Why Art?

So this is a picture of my art box. My Aunt bought it for me a few years back from an estate sale. Yes, it belong to an old man that passed away, but from the looks of it he seemed to be an accomplished artist. I still have his original clip arts that he taped into the box. In some ways when I open that box to paint, I do feel like I am continuing his passion for art.. It's kinda cool- Hope you enjoy the pic..
A lot of people have been asking me, "what inspires me to paint the people or objects that I do?" For me, I never really think about what I'm going to paint - I usually just get a feeling or desire to paint someone or something. I might hear a quote from Bob Dylan and that quote gets me through a hard day - so I will paint him. Most people think that my art may seem a little "dark," but actually I think it's quite the opposite. Most people who know me or have meet me know that I am a pretty happy-go-lucky kind of a girl. Doesn't take much to make me happy and I enjoy nature/people/happy things! But we all need that outlet to express our feelings - If it's anger, sadness or just wanting to express yourself, I can do that through my art. My art has become my therapist; with a brush in my hand I can express what I'm feeling and put it down in front of me. A lot of the paintings that I have done are inspirations from other artists, musicians, actors, anything that makes me feel "inspired," and that is the best feeling to have.
After starting this blog I've realized making art is truly what makes me happy and I need to explore and go beyond my skills of what I have already accomplished. I am hoping to start taking my own pictures, experiencing new things and developing paintings off of them. We shall see how it goes!!!