In a small town filled with bright colors and happy people, I had a dream. Not just any dream - but one that danced and twirled with every brushstroke I saw. My name is Ava, and I wanted to be an artist when I grew up.
Every day, I would take my simple box of crayons to the big park with my mom. I loved how they felt in my hands, and I would sketch the flowers, the birds, and all the fun things I saw. I would dream of having a gigantic box of crayons with every color imaginable, but for now, my tiny box was just enough.
One day, my mom surprised me. We walked to the end of the street and turned left, where a big sign read “The Art Studio”. My eyes grew big with excitement, and soon I was inside, surrounded by so much splendor! The walls were filled with amazing paintings and strange sculptures. There were colors everywhere - yellows, greens, blues, and reds. I hurriedly put on my smock as the teacher said, “Today is all about discovering you!”
In front of me were huge blank sheets of paper, just waiting for my ideas. As I looked around, everyone seemed to draw with such confidence. I picked up a brush dipped in purple paint and began to create my very own valley and a castle of fluffy, pink clouds. But as I looked around, I noticed my friends sketching with pencils, pastels, and even playing with sticky clay. Suddenly, I felt a wave of worry wash over me.
“Oh no! What if my painting of the flowers and trees and the pink and fluffy castle is not good enough?” I thought my heart was going to break. But just then, my friend Al lifted a stick of charcoal and said, “I’ll help. Together we can do this.” Soon, we were giggling and having so much fun, and I forgot all about my worries.
Later, we gathered our creations on the big table, and I looked at each one. They all looked so unique. Mine had splashes of colors everywhere while another was only black and white but told a beautiful story. The teacher smiled and told us how every piece of art tells a story, showing the world through the artist’s eyes. It was a wonderful feeling! I didn’t have to copy or change my art. I could keep creating what made me happy.
Every week after that, we went back to the art studio, and I tried all the different forms of art. I colored, I painted, I sketched, and more importantly, I practiced. One day, I wondered, “What if I painted the flowers in the sky and the birds in the garden?” So I did! Then I painted a flower with a hairy caterpillar on its stem! I couldn’t believe how silly they looked!
The next week, my friend Kelsey and I decided to create a whole story. I painted “A Day in the Life of an Unborn Flower”. It showed all the steps a flower goes through every day. I was so proud!
The week after that, I painted myself as a butterfly inside the flower, holding a crown of flowers. I called it “The Man Behind the Butterfly”.
“How lovely!” Kelsey said.
“But these are not that amazing,” I replied shyly.
“Yes, they are, and each one of your paintings brings a smile to my face - even when they fall.”
She chuckled as I recalled the time I was painting and the big wind blew my paper into the tree. My painting looked better sitting there, so I took a picture and had it printed!
At the end of our time at the art studio, our teacher surprised us again. “Today is all about showing the world your voice,” she said excitedly. I painted everyone in the class with the beautiful colors they had chosen, like a big rainbow. When I looked at my painting, I realized it was a more beautiful portrait of my friends than any other painting I could do. I cried happy tears looking at it, thinking of how much I had grown.
I am proud to say that I am Ava the artist. I told my teacher about my stories, and together we made a plan to create the very first book that would have my paintings in it. I can still feel those butterflies in my tummy right before our book got published. I shall treasure every moment of my big adventure forever.
And remember, no painting is too silly to paint.