Inspired Art: I Wish

Acrylic on Canvas with Pencil Drawing and Gold Leaf, 24 x 24"

I created this painting as a donation for America Scores of Denver. Artists were asked to create unique pieces inspired by Denver Public School students' poetry. I chose the following poem:


I Wish Poem
I wish my mom didn’t leave me because I miss her.
I wish I could get my mom and dad back together.
I wish I can learn about my mom so that when I see her I know it is her.
I wish I can get all my sadness and drop it in the ocean.
I wish that my mom cared and loved me.
I wish I can know, see and love my mom, but I am not sure what to say.
I love her or I don’t?

Christian F. Age 10,
Newlon Elementary


I was inspired by Christian's courageous use of poetry to express his feelings. In essence it's what I try to do every time my paintbrush touches canvas. My vision was a abstract expressionism painting to convey the poems words. It's hard to imagine any image illustrating the broken heart of this child.

I started by embodying the emotional words, using red, blue, and yellow to suggest heartache, a ocean, and wishing upon a star. I felt like a fraud painting someone else's emotion. It just didn't feel right. To me, it needed the main character, mom. It doesn't sound like he knows what his mom looks like, so I drew a generic female face. It gives the painting a focal point and represents the main character.

Painting is always a process.

Here are the event details:

For more info: http://inspiredartdenver.wordpress.com/