Color has always been a love of mine right from the time I was able to hold a crayon. I remember my Mom buying me a box of 64 and a coloring book just about every Sunday on the way to Grandmas’ house which was an hour ride from my home. The color of the box, the smell of the crayons and even that crazy built-in sharpener was the best thing ever to me and it was the start of my color creating life.

Come read my journey of color and how it all started, from crayon to finger painting to Color Expert.

Color has always fascinated me. I thought it was the coolest thing when I picked up a crayon in the color of my choice, and was able to transfer its color onto a surface. Unfortunately that surface happened to be the walls of my parents home at the time but I was just a kid, what did I know?

I scribbled on the walls literally all over  the house from my room, my parents room the bathroom and even in my closet where I thought my secret canvas was safe. I know you’re probably asking –

“Didn’t my Mom buy me any coloring books?”

Answer, yes – TONS and I just blew through them over night. I viewed the walls as a perpetual coloring book and I was in heaven.

Did my color journey change over the years? Yes, it was more pronounced as I got older. Did I still scribble on the walls? Yes. I just couldn’t help it.

My Mom was furious with me as years and years of wiping and cleaning crayon off the walls continued. I’m sure my Mom thought I was crazy or had some kind of condition at this point because it just never stopped – even into my teens.

The house I grew up in was a small ranch on Long Island. It had three bedrooms one bathroom and a half bath in the master bedroom. I remember using my Mom’s bathroom one day because the other loo was occupied and as usually, a creative urge was also present.

Without going into details, I had a little time on my hands, a few minutes to kill so I looked around my Moms bathroom. I always loved looking in her stuff to see what kind of make-up she had, weird hair things and the newest color of lipstick that she was sporting. And there it was! The most beautiful red lipstick I had ever seen!

Can you guess what I did next? Like I just said, I had a few minutes to kill and no, I am not a book reader so I entertained myself the best way I could think of and it involved that magical red lipstick.

I picked it up, twirled up the color and it was like a magnet, somehow, somehow, the lipstick seemed to travel right towards the very white bathroom walls. A masterpiece was created!

Long story short I got hell for that. My Mom through such a conniption I was thought she was going to pop a blood vessel or two. Did I know better at that age not to write on the walls with my Moms very expensive lipstick? Hell yeah but the urge was too strong.

That urge ladies and gentlemen is called passion. Either you have it or you don’t. This drive is nothing you can learn in school or try to learn in college. It’s a God-given gift. This calling was is so strong,  I continued to color, draw, paint, design, decorate, create right up until today and there is no end in sight.

I started off as an Interior Designer and continued to fine tune myself right into the Color Expert that I am today. Expert you say? Yes and I have my ENTIRE lifetime to back that up. That’s a lot of work with color and it just seeps through my pores today with no end in sight.

There are days when I literally feel like I’m going to pop because I have all these ideas and see a million colors in my head all day, every day. Am I some kind of Savant? Some of my silly friends call me a color Savant but I just take them with a grain of salt and chuckle.

I continually need a release for my color ideas and just recently, I’ve finally discovered something that truly makes me happy. What is it? Finger painting!

As you know, many great ideas come from mistakes, like the potato chip. When someone happen to be cutting a potato and one slice fell into a pot of hot oil and the potato chip was born.

The same thing happened to me December of last year. It was so nice to have the entire month of December off to celebrate the holidays with family and friends. Towards the end of the month I actually had time to paint which I sadly neglected all year.

As I gathered all my  painting supplies, set up my art studio, got my palette in order, brushes, canvas and glass of water for my acrylics I realized that I needed a certain size brush for the painting I was working on at the time.

I was so annoyed that I had to stop what I was doing, walk thirty feet into the other room, look for my brush and hurry back to my studio in hopes that my paint didn’t dry and my inspiration was still there by the time I got back. One never knows what can happen on the way back in those thirty steps perhaps a trip to the bathroom, kitchen or what if the phone should ring? I’d be screwed.

So what did I do? I used one of the ten paint brushes that God has given me – my finger! Low and behold it was the best decision ever! I looked at the stroke I created and it was freaking perfect! I pushed away all the brushes off my desk, picked up my painting palette and dug my fingers into that paint.

I was free and it felt amazing! I can’t even describe how it feels to put your fingers into paint and feel each color and mix it on the canvas. Swirl after swirl, smudge after smudge a painting was born and I haven’t picked up a paint brush since. Sure the brushes are still sitting in the corner of my office jealously watching and wondering if they will ever be needed again. I do awkwardly glance at them from time to time like two high school friends who haven’t seen each other in 10 years. They will always be in my life but for the time being, just as spectators.

As I stepped back and looked at my creation I was speechless. It was like an Angel held my arm and guided my hand as I connected paint to canvas and to me, yes it is a miracle because after 51 years on this earth, I finally found the perfect way to express myself and I’d like to share some of my finger paintings with you.

Here are my finger paintings, in order as they were created. You can see details and style develop as the paintings are created.

Northern Lights

Sonset

Anna Marie Island

Walk In The Woods

Three Leaves

The Bride