Seasons of My Life

AUTUMN

MARISA GARCIA-ROMERO

I had been a professional interior designer for 25 years. While it had been a very fulfilling career, I had put my dreams of being a painter at the backburner of my life. In fact, I really did not have enough confidence in my skills to be so.  I had art materials but never touched them. I felt insecure.

But then my mother got ill and had to move in with me. She needed much attention and care. Even if she had caregivers, my presence was significant to her. I soon realized that my career had to be put on hold. Besides, I was developing allergies to the toxins I was exposed to in construction like paint, dust, etc.

This was when I felt the urge again to finally pick up the brush, get an art teacher, and gather some like-minded friends to muster the courage to paint. That was in 2000, and I had my first exhibit in the same year.  Some 8 exhibits later, I still paint weekly on Thursdays with an intimate circle of friends and budding artists where we paint not simply to be skillful on the canvas but in the course of the hours together, to share our life journey as mothers, sisters, grandmothers, and artists.

These last two decades have been an advantageous period of my life. Many have passed and painted here in my home and felt healed, recharged, and reinvigorated to face life and its daily challenges.

The gift of time I had given my mother has come back to me as a grace to become an artist and a channel of blessing to others.

SPRING    

SUMMER