Antoinette - The Artist
I was born in Santiago Chile, migrated to the U.S. when I was 11 years old. I began painting in 2000 after a family member was diagnosed with cancer. Art became my therapy, hobby and my passion. I'm a self taught artist, no fancy resume.
As a kid I loved to draw and color, like most kids I would say. I could spend hours upon hours coloring and never get bored. At some point that past time was set aside as maturity and life’s responsibilities took over. It was full circle when I took up drawing and painting again. It was a moment in life when life was overwhelming with responsibilities and challenges. The first image I drew as an adult was that of a heart with an exploding center. I drew it in a notebook the social worker at children’s memorial hospital gave me shortly after one of my twin daughters was diagnosed with leukemia at the age of 4. She said it would help to express myself about what was happening with my daughter. I used vibrant colors to depict the intense emotion I was feeling. When the doctor gave me the news about my baby girl I felt like a cannon ball struck my chest, my legs went weak and I fell to the floor and prayed. I felt powerless, I was powerless. I told my baby I would always protect her …. that monsters were not real….and this monster, cancer was all over the insides of my beautiful baby girl. I felt like I was going to explode. I was unable to speak about this. After I drew this image of the heart, I felt like I had shared what I felt with this image. I felt a little less weight on my shoulders and on my mind.
From that point forward, I have never stopped. I draw, paint and write to express everything I feel, to soothe my sometimes overburdened mind and heart. In 2012 I was diagnosed with breast cancer. Art, and the process of art is a healing instrument. During treatment I was unable to work and after rest and family Art was my every moment of therapy God comes before all things for me. I can say with conviction that it is only by His grace that I am able to create anything. God has blessed me with the tools to cope. Art is that tool. God almighty knows and blesses me with this ability, for it is what fulfills me.