MinoPaints

I majored in Plastic Arts in High school and, after a 2 year hiatus doing mandatory military service, I studied 4 years for a degree in Graphic and Interactive Design. I thought this was "it", I had the perfect plan to utilize my artistic talent in a much desired and lucrative profession.
But those four years of college took a heavy toll on my mental and physical health, and I was soon hit with a condition that gave me dizzying, excruciating headaches, so bad I couldn't look at a computer, let alone work, for nearly 6 months. Almost as bad as the actual pain was the boredom of being able to do nothing, since most of my creativity had been aimed at a computer for so long, I forgot there were things I knew how to do without it. You don't need a computer to pick up a brush and paint.

But there was a problem. How do I overcome the self consciousness and shames of an adult mind these past 9 years have given me? college drilled in a self criticism and perfectionism that I now found crippling. I was scared to even touch the white page, afraid that anything I do would not be good enough, whatever "good enough" even meant.
So I started small, abstract, meaningless paintings. The idea was just to paint for the heck of it, no one has to see, there will be no test and no consequences, no matter what came out of me.
And thus I slowly began remembering the joys of creating for the sake of creation, techniques I'd long forgotten, and the more I painted the more confidence I gained in trying out new subjects, formats and techniques.
I'd accumulated dozens of paintings, the house was getting crowded, and I suddenly wanted to see what people would think of them. So I held a housewarming party for my new apartment, and filled a shelf with paintings up for grabs. All my guests were welcome to take one or more back home with them, as a thank you for coming to celebrate with us.

By the end of the day, I was left with only five paintings. They were way more popular than my low self esteem had estimated.
So then I thought, "I wonder if people would be willing to buy them?"
So I signed up to sell in artist fares and got a shelf in my mother's little shop. And buy they did. Before I realized it, this wonderful hobby of mine had turned into "work", of the best kind. And so, here we are, at the next step. Offering up my creations to you, worldwide.

The journey isn't over, but what you see here in this shop are the fruits that can be picked along the way. It's all uphill from here.