The Night Heron watercolor artist exhibition.

The Night Heron watercolor artist exhibition.

 In July and August of this year, I visited Port Jefferson Village, where the art show will be held. I took the pictures below, which are pictures to be submitted.

  ​When I was told to bring my paintings by 9:30, when I went, many paintings were already prepared. My painting is one of them. I took a picture of the preparation process.

  ​Before the exhibition, the paintings are laid down on the floor. This is when I am most nervous. And it makes me think a lot. Just as we go on a trip, take pictures, and come back home and look back at the pictures, we fall into old memories. When I look at the pictures laid out on the floor before the exhibition, I remember the times I struggled to paint this picture. Painting is a job that requires concentration and patience. For a long time, a single piece of art comes out when you concentrate and immerse all your senses on a single piece of paper or canvas.

  ​When drawing, you need to turn off all the sounds around you that are bothering you, worrying, or making you anxious. And you have to think only of the picture. Because of the characteristics of these paintings, the painting itself helps to cure many mental disorders such as depression and obsessive compulsive disorder. It is also true that drawing improves attention and concentration. Because drawing properly requires a high degree of concentration.

  Because of this concentration, I sometimes like to compare painting to driving. Driving also requires concentration. Because of the risk of an unexpected accident and focus on safety, when driving, you should focus only on the act of driving. But when you drive and run on the road, you can see beautiful clouds, enjoy the scenery, find some places or call people. However, painting that requires the same concentration makes it difficult to enjoy and watch the surroundings like this. When painting, all focus should be on only the brushes and paints.

  However, this tedious work that has to focus only on paper and brush is as fun as admiring the beautiful scenery outside the window while driving. The white paper becomes a window that shows that scenery.

  ​Artists' exhibitions are the ones that open a window that shows the beauty in one's mind or imagination and look into it every day, and show the impressive and beautiful things among them.

 ​I have experienced a lot of these exhibitions while painting. I hung out with paintings, met various people, and held or attended exhibitions with different titles in various places. There were times when things felt difficult. When I had to raise children in the midst of my life, when I had to deal with the life of immigrants who couldn't afford it, there were times when the exhibition came to me as a burden rather than a joy.

 ​However, even in difficult times, I realize that the exhibition was a meaningful work that I challenged myself, cultivated the field, and sowed seeds.

  ​What would have happened if I hadn't had the courage to take on the first exhibition? Like the candle in my picture, the wind has to blow to make the lights move. You have to challenge something and gather energy to achieve something. So was the exhibition. If I had only piled those pictures up in a drawer, it would not have led to numerous connections, opportunities, and meaningful work. In that sense, exhibitions are very important for painters.

 ​I also attend the exhibition as one of the many painters who are painting their own paintings, not just a handful of successful painters. A lot of tears and sweats are shed to prepare this one exhibition. My studio is always close to the kitchen because I absolutely run out of time to paint. I cook and paint while the water boils. In other words, you do not know how many times you have to go back and forth in a day to complete one picture.

 ​Often comes when my daughter is painting. I have to stop drawing or draw together. This is probably the life of most female artists who take care of children and paint.

  There are many times when this kind of life is hard and weary and I want to stop. And I think. Wouldn't it have been better if I had done something other than painting? Would I have made more money and lived a more leisurely life than I am  now?

  ​And these thoughts may be the daily worries and conflicts of people who have made painting their full-time job. However, if I prepare an exhibition and put the painting on the floor and look at it, I think that the exhibition itself is very similar to our lives as if it were a person. I draw a picture on blank canvas and put it in a frame to send a wedding well. It is the greatest happiness if they meet their partner and live well, but even if not, I will bring back the pictures and take good care of them. Just like there are fancy receptions, there are times when I have to go get some unsold paintings. There are times when the painting is sold and there are moments of cheering, but there are times when the desired results are not achieved even though I have worked hard and prepared.

  ​Because it resembles life like this, I feel more attached to painting. Obviously, painting has given me many lessons, pleasure, reward, and missions. So when I think of these invisible rewards, I can't help redrawing the picture.