My Journey to Becoming an Artist

I constantly drew as a child and always felt the need for artistic expression.  But sometimes, others can throw cold water on our creative fire.  Such is what happened with me when a teacher put me off track, by saying, “you can do better than that,” or when a career counselor advised me to be an architectural draftsman, not an artist.  And not having strong family support to bolster my confidence, my artistic side was buried for many years.  But here and there the artist inside would pop out and show itself.  

Then in 2000, some life-changing events happened and I knew I had to do something about this craving inside.  My only sister died in May of 2000, and I grieved for her terribly (we were less than a year apart in age).  My immune system was in the pits by the end of that year and I contracted some sort of virus that led to a bout of optic neuritis causing me to lose sight completely in one eye and about 50% in the other eye for three horrifying days.  God answered my prayers to restore my sight, and I was pulled from the brink of blindness by quick-acting doctors and 3 weeks of massive doses of Prednisone.

Afterwards, I vowed to rediscover my artistic identity.  It was a struggle as I took classes here and there in various media—watercolor painting, stained glass, quilting.  But ten years into the journey, I came across a website that I found to be very inspiring.  It is called Paint My Photo, where photographers freely share their photographs specifically for artists to paint—not just run-of-the-mill photos and photographers, but some outstanding photos done by some very talented photographers.  With encouragement from the PMP community, I began painting in acrylic paints in 2010 through self-study using instructional online videos.   Seeing how determined I was to express my creative side, my wonderfully supportive spouse finished our upstairs attic space into an art studio for me the next year.

Since that time I have painted many landscapes, birds, animals, a few portraits and still life paintings.  I love nature and color and try to express my joy and gratitude for being able to see these wonders of God’s creation by putting paint to canvas.  We all have a creative inner life and I would like to encourage everyone, no matter your age or how long you’ve waited to give expression to that urge—to go for it—give in to your need to create.

I live in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, with my husband Billy, and two dogs (Daisy and Charlie).  Please email me at janet.sammons@yahoo.com if you have any questions about any of the paintings in my gallery.