City Hall

My First Art Showing

This month I got to see my art hanging in City Hall. A couple of months ago I saw a post about an art show in my town, so I submitted my painting, Trash Heron. Later, I got an email saying that it has been accepted! Yay! They asked me to drop it off at the rec center, so naturally I thought that was where the gallery would take place. All month I imagined my painting in the rec center, but was too busy so I never got around to visiting the gallery to see it. On June 26th I was finally going to see it, it was the night of the artists reception. The reception’s address was City Hall… Wait, gallery is in City Hall?? My art had been hanging in City Hall for the last few weeks and I had no idea!

When I finally realized that the gallery was in City Hall, I was happy. That was so much more exciting than a rec center! But, it hadn’t really hit me yet. I went to the artist reception, talked to some other artists, ate some snacks, and took a few photos with my painting. I posted the photo online and that’s when everything shifted. Suddenly I was overwhelmed with so many nice comments and people that I haven’t talked to in years were sending me DM’s to congratulate me. Then I realized, this is a big deal!

The last time my art was shown was in Elementary School, my piece called “Triangle Foxes” was in my towns arts festival. Then again, in Highschool, my photography was shown in the same festival. I also had a small gallery in Highschool for my IB Visual Arts class in the school. Outside of school related opportunities, this is my first real art showing! Even more exciting, another one of my paintings has been accepted to a gallery in downtown Seattle for next month (July)! Two showings back to back! This opportunity feels like the beginning of a new chapter in my life as an artist and has expanded my view on what is possible for me.

My painting, Trash Heron, is acrylic on canvas. I painted it to represent the horrible pollution and how it can affect the wildlife. It is not my favorite painting (I don’t even have it in my portfolio!) but it was a learning experience. I enjoyed painting the items, trying to make them realistic as I don’t paint realism very often. Specifically, I surprised myself with the soda can in the painting; it was a tough one but it turned out pretty good. I painted Trash Heron last year and it doesn’t quite fit my style anymore, but it is still something I created and will always be a part of my artistic journey! This experience has made me so excited for future opportunities where I can show art that reflects me and my style now that it has been refined a bit more!

This whole experience was wonderful. It taught me that not every piece has to be perfect or completely reflect who I am as an artist at this moment. Every piece reflects a moment of my journey. I don’t feel super proud of this heron painting, but I am proud that it was chosen to be shown in City Hall. If this piece can make it here, I can only imagine what I can do with my art as I continue to grow. Thank you to everyone who reached out and made me realize how important this was, and to those who have supported me!

Trash Heron

Acrylic on Canvas, shown at Lynnwood City Hall