Abstract Family Painting
In our living room, the largest wall is decorated with a painting that is very special to me. I love art and have always considered myself an artist. When I was in school, I did all sorts of 2-dimensional artwork, but the style that stayed with me was abstract painting. I loved the way I could lose control over the medium I was using and let the paint tell the story of whatever emotion I wanted to portray. This painting tells the story of my family’s beginning and the love story I share with my husband.
When Stephen and I first started dating in 2008, I painted an abstract piece portraying my feelings towards him. It was a passionate red, orange, and pink in a monochromatic color scheme. I drew from that piece to begin this painting on the left side with the tornado shaped, fiery figure. That part of the painting signifies our tumultuous beginning as a couple. You see, I had recently broken up with a different boyfriend and Stephen was actually involved with someone else when we went on our first date. When we started seeing each other, we fell for each other very hard. We said “I love you” two weeks into our relationship and got engaged nine months in. We were 18 years old.
We planned our wedding for July of 2011 because everyone told us we were too young to get married and we should at least have a two year engagement. We went to college together and after our first year, we moved into an apartment together. About ten months before our wedding date, we went through some big troubles. Stephen left me and we were apart for a month the end of 2010. When we got back together, it was not all wedding bells again. We were deeply in love with each other, but needed to work through the hard times we had experienced. About six months later, we found out I was pregnant with our daughter, Lily. Tumultuous, right? Well, this is where the painting changes…
The transition from dating to parenthood changed everything for us. Our relationship smoothed out and blossomed into a family. Lily arrived in January of 2012 and we got married a few months prior to that in October of 2011. The ribbon of red signifies a “W” for our newly shared last name, Woods. We love our married life together and the family we created so much that we decided to have another baby last year. Nick arrived in November of 2013, and we do plan to have more kids. The ripples coming off the blossom in this painting symbolize our future descendents.
This painting speaks to me more than anything else I have done as an artist. I am drawn to it and its obvious energy and life. I hope now that you know the story behind it, you can better understand why it holds such importance in my home on the main wall of our living room. I think decorating should mean something, and I absolutely love decor that tells a story. This painting tells the story closest to my heart. If you want to read more about my husband and me, check out the About Me page.
Thank you for reading! I would love it if you left a comment telling me what you think of this painting or shared this with your friends!
Thank you!