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Creating is My Happy Place

[Image of a square painting framed in gold. A blue face is in the upper left corner reminiscent of the sky. Her lips mimic the color and strokes of the rose below. Her hair is in bold color waves. To the upper right are fuschia flowers. Along the bottom are yellow and red flowers among greenery painted with a combination of brushes and a palette knife. The painting is colorful, mood is bright and organic.]
"Self-Portrait" 2005, oil on canvas, 30x30 inches


My undergraduate studies were in biology (major) and painting (minor). I followed the pre-med track. I was going to be a pediatrician. In organic chemistry, I took meticulous color-coded notes. My lab notebook was beautiful (lab was so much more fun than lecture...). I spent so many hours in the library and study rooms. But my happiest hours were spent in the studio. It was my space to create. It was my space to be. That blank canvas. That blank paper. Brushes. Paints. Graphite pencils. Dark black charcoal. Gummy erasers. Pickle jars collected for turpentine. 

"Koi Fish and Dragonfly" 2005, oil on canvas, 48x36 inches

[Image is of a figure repeated several times on a piece of paper in different poses. Drawings are done quickly to capture the movement using charcoal. Bottom right is a check mark from the professor, the date 3/20/03, 30s, and initials SL.]
"Gesture Drawing Exercise-30 seconds" March 2003, charcoal on paper

One of my painting professors said, "why don't you major in art instead?" I didn't have an answer. I suffered through Calculus III (and then dropped it once I realized I didn't actually need it...). I re-took a biology class that I enjoyed but it didn't seem to love me back. My art classes on the other hand, it was mutual. It was where I felt most comfortable and challenged but challenged in a way that didn't make me break out in full body hives the night before exams. Then medical school didn't happen and I went the route of public health. I went to graduate school for my Masters of Public Health with a focus on nutrition and became a Registered Dietitian. 

[Image of a watercolor and ink drawing in a bound sketchbook. There's a small glass container, glass cup, and silver spoon imposed on one another at different angles. Different colors in varying degrees of transparency overlay each other amidst black lines creating negative spaces and dividing shapes.]
"Patchwork Spoon" February 2008, watercolor and ink on paper, 8x12 inches

The large painting easel with boxes of paints was less accessible as I moved around so a sketchbook and set of watercolors filled its place. I didn't get to spend hours and hours in a studio but I did get to create for a few minutes here and there. 

[Image of a watercolor painting of a white orchid and an orchid bud next to it. Background is a wash of different colors. Signature in lower left corner "Stephanie Lu" with date May 11, 2008.]
"Mother's Day Orchid" May 2008, watercolor on paper, 12x8 inches

[Image of an oceanscape from beneath a bridge looking through the columns at a pier. Water is shades of turquoise. Edges of the painting aren't straight as paint had seeped underneath the tape of the edges.]
"Wrightsville Beach, Wilmington" March 2009, watercolor on paper, 6x10 inches

And now we're here in 2018. Married. Two kids. Life is busy. Creating continues to be my happy place. This year. This year, I plan on getting out is those brushes out of moving boxes. I plan on getting out those paints. I will draw. I will paint. I will create.



For more pics and commentary, check out my Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/wearingpluotandkumquat/.

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