There is only one fact you need to know about me in order to explain why I became an artist. My father passed away when I was five years old.
Embrace by Miriam Schulman, fine art print |
nurture vs. nature: my creative DNA
I tell you this not so you will feel sorry for me, for I have rarely felt sorry for myself. This fact has become so deeply ingrained in my nature that I can no longer separate the aftermath of growing up fatherless from other facts about me such as my birth order or my gender.
I say this without cynicism nor with the religious attitude that “everything happens for a reason” for I do not believe in that either.
Events can make their own reasons. Perhaps, I would have still become an artist even if I did not know death. However, one thing I do know– is that I would have become a different kind of artist had I become an artist at all.
Celebrate the color of life
I am an artist that paints and celebrates the color of life. I do not seek to recreate death in my paintings– I know that too well. At five, I stared into a black room filled with sad people I knew. Everyone in my life was there… except for my father. His absence was answered by an explanation I was not yet ready to understand.
I have been running from black ever since.
“Hope in Sadness” by Miriam Schulman |
Hope in sadness
My paintings are filled with the colors of joy and harmony. I create art to lift me up and share my lust for life with others in a way that heals the soul. Although color is my subject, I choose to paint landscapes, figures and animals and each serves its purpose. Whether I paint people or peacocks, its personality that moves my paintbrush. Sometimes, their sadness does make its way into my art but I aim to show you that there is something beautiful and hopeful in that sadness as well
Personality of a place
When I travel, I will sketch with my camera capturing ideas and then create a landscape that will show others what I want them to see. Rarely do I choose the typical tourist postcard scenes. Rather, I focus on the ordinary experience of being on the street with the people and colors. I bring life to the personality of a place. The painting creates a two dimensional escape window to a calmer time and space.
Do I know you?
All living things have souls. Raccoon Art by Miriam Schulman. “Do I know you”, 7×10″ original watercolor |
Figures and animals- anything with “eyes” -has always been natural for me. I was always the kind of student who might be caught drawing my teachers instead of taking notes. I may have sketched my female teachers, but it is the drawings of my male teachers that I remember the most. I studied their faces so carefully, perhaps looking for the father I never knew. Perhaps his is the soul I seek when I paint animals.
Dark Horse by Miriam Schulman |
Non-toxic materials only
You can even link my choice of materials to my father’s death. I paint with water based medium such as watercolors or acrylics because I have found them to be the least toxic of all the artist mediums. My mind at ease that I am working with non-toxic materials, I can focus on my art instead of my safety.
The artist statement
So when I was asked to write this artist statement to answer not the what but the why. I find it impossible to separate my reasons from my biography. When I paint, I feel alive as I watch the colors mix and flow on the paper or canvas to recreate a more beautiful world filled with color, love and tranquility.
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What a beautiful tribute to your father- that your soul chose to create beauty out of loss.
This is such a great post! I came back to read a couple times! 😊🐺☀️
Foxes And Things
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I love knowing that you create art to share life, joy and color. I create jewelry with joy in mind, of celebrating holidays and life.