"To me, being an artist can mean many things. I believe all people are artists in their own way. I believe that anyone with a dream is an artist, visualizing and painting a picture of change, of how they want to live. I believe that all an artist needs is an idea, a vision, a drive, and most of all, a purpose.

When someone says the word “artist,” many think of the greats such as Leonardo DaVinci or Pablo Picasso, but when I hear artist, I hear someone with a dream, a vision. Artists in the literal sense, yes, have a vision, a dream. Picasso had visions of skewed faces, revolutionizing, and modernizing the human form. Van Gough saw dots, skies full of sadness and stars, and rolling country sides. Through his visions and his eyes, he painted what he saw, affecting millions.

Leonardo DaVinci, though, is a great example of both a literal and figurative artist. Though he created many works, DaVinci was an inventor, a dreamer, an artist. He wished for a more accurate clock, and made it, he wished for a flying machine, so he drew it. DaVinci’s definition of an artist is what I strive to be, forward and driven.

Through my art, I now notice and appreciate the more beautiful aspects of life rather than focusing on the negatives. I now notice each water droplet falling from a dewy leaf, an ant carrying crumbs left by a passing child, a crow in its nest. I notice my heart beating faster, the mud under my feet, the wind in my hair as the shutter of my camera clicks, capturing a snapshot of all of life’s beauty in a single second. This is the magic of an artist."