IN THE MAKING: WORKS BY MICHAEL LARDIZABAL

Like a lot of artists, the actual act of creating is what I first fell in love with, but little did I know that art was helping me heal myself to where I actually felt like me again.

"My hope is that even an ounce of the feelings and lessons I learned making all of the art for this show seeps through the canvases and paint strokes and connects with you.

"I hope that these pieces make you feel more bold, peaceful, joyful, and free to dream; free to be fully you."

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Thank you for your interest in my show, In The Making.

Like a lot of artists, the actual act of creating is what I first fell in love with, each brush stroke made, the smell of the acrylic paints on the palette, the feel of it as I accidentally get some on my hands. It’s a beautiful thing.

While the very act of making things is what motivates me to create, I found something pretty interesting happening over time. The subjects and styles I found myself drawn to painting for a period of time always pointed toward the lessons I needed to learn during that time of my life.

When I had lost my confidence, I found characters in my work that represented fear as a friend. Each painting I made was like exposure therapy that helped me see fear in a positive light and use the feeling to help me make bold moves in life.

When I was too caught up in rigid, perfectionism I found myself drawn to painting vibrant, abstracts alive with movement. With each piece, I found myself more full of peace, freedom, and joy.

And through all my other weird characters and more moody abstracts, I felt the whisper of my greatest dream of creating stories and worlds for people to get lost in, or what I sometimes refer to as becoming “Indie, Weird Disney”. Each painting I made gave me more permission to entertain the things I am most scared of, yet most excited to pursue in my life; animation and video game development.

As much as I got lost In The Making of the works themselves, the whole process of creating was actually helping me to remake myself. In essence, the real canvas was me, Michael, In The Making.

My hope is that even an ounce of the feelings and lessons I learned creating all of the art for this show seeps through the canvases and paint strokes and connects with you. I hope that these pieces make you feel more bold, peaceful, joyful, and free to dream; free to be fully you.

This brings me to my last thing.

This show marks a turning point where I finally allow myself to lean into my biggest, craziest dream of making animated stories and video games, something I've wanted to do for longer than I can remember.

The money I receive from any sales will go directly towards helping me fund my education, training, and equipment on my path to realizing this dream.

Thanks for reading one artist's feelings and thoughts spilled out on the page.

And remember, whenever you're feeling low and deflated, maybe your own version of art is just waiting for you to “pick up a brush” and help you grow through the season you’re in.

Wishing you a life lived to the very fullest,

Michael Lardizabal