Sergio Lopez

<img src="https://i.imgur.com/g0yToQ8.jpg"> <h2>My art is my voice.</h2>Art is so important to me because it is the way my soul tells the world, “I am here. The fact that I am here matters.” 
Through
 my own exploration of art and beauty, I have found a direction for my 
life that connects me to the collective spirit of our human tribe that 
we all find necessary to connect to. Not only do I find it necessary to 
be connected, but I also feel a strong urge to add value to it by 
producing the best art I can. 
Why am I speaking to you in this moment? 
I’m here to tell you that you can sing through your paintings even if you speak in whispers. <img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/1fb785_82a8ddd49bc04ab1832ede5e6d0b83fb~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_745,h_721,al_c,q_85/1fb785_82a8ddd49bc04ab1832ede5e6d0b83fb~mv2.jpg"> <div>Learning
 to embrace speaking in whispers has been a bumpy road for me. I have 
always been an introvert. Because I come from a family that values a 
more assertive personality, I was made to believe that this was a 
disadvantage. I felt pushed to be more of an extrovert, which I 
completely resisted. The more I was encouraged to act in a way that was 
unnatural to me, the more I shut down. It was to the point where it 
would be a shock if people heard me speak up. I just felt lacking of the
 tools that I thought everyone else had for making friends easily. 

 

How
 many times did you feel like didn’t have the right words to say what 
you mean? Can you relate to those moments where you felt completely 
invisible? But yet you had something to say but you didn't know how to 
say it without feeling like you had to try to be someone else? 

 

I
 can say that the Art Spirit chose me before I ever had the chance to 
object. My earliest memories are of myself doing some sort of art. I 
found that through drawing and writing there was still an outlet to get 
my ideas heard. Even then I understood the power of attaching pictures 
to words.</div>
<img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/1fb785_850d95a91213443bb2b45088a4cc1362~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_881,h_1052,al_c,q_85/1fb785_850d95a91213443bb2b45088a4cc1362~mv2.jpg"> <div>As
 I got older, I felt more and more comfortable with the idea of 
dedicating my life to the pursuit of art as a career, because of the 
safety and identity that calling myself an artist would give me. I 
decided to go all in and thanks to my parents’ hard work, attend a 
formal art college at the Academy of Art in San Francisco. 
Though
 it was expensive, my financial aid made it so that I was not struggling
 to make ends meet while there. I could finally devote most of my time 
to studying art and finding my voice. As soon as I started art school, 
it really opened my eyes to the whole world of art. 
It also made me very uncomfortable. 

 

For
 the first time in my life, I was on my own. I was in a new school, in a
 new city with nobody around to tell me what I needed to do. That can be
 both a thrill and a frightening position. I thought that I had no 
identity and no voice coming from a place of speaking in whispers, so I 
believed that I could start with a blank slate and reinvent myself into 
the Superman I wanted to be. I had fantasies of becoming this 
super-popular outgoing ladies-man that I was envious of as a teenager. 
The problem was that this person didn’t just magically appear, and that I
 couldn’t just wake up and be this avatar that did not yet exist. I was 
attempting to define myself in a way that I thought would make people 
more interested in me. 

 

One
 day during my first semester, I came back to my dorm room after class, 
feeling particularly sorry for myself. I climbed into my bunk bed, put 
my pillow over my face and cried. 
I
 just remember thinking, why couldn’t I just be this person I wanted to 
be? How come I couldn’t just come out of my shell? It should be easy as 
just doing it, right? I laid there for a while, shameful for even 
feeling that way. Here
 I am, a young man with a golden opportunity given to me in the fact 
that I was allowed to pursue an education at an expensive art school, a 
relatively easy life to this point, and still feeling miserable in this 
moment. 
What got me here? What was I going to do in order to not feel this way again </div>
 <div>What
 I came to realize later was that, if we were to step outside of 
ourselves we would see that we already have an identity, and that mine 
is one that I was always fighting against. It was a turning point for 
me. In that moment of self-pity, I discovered within myself a part of me
 that was desperate to come out. 
From
 then on, I committed myself to being more expressive about the beauty 
inside me. This was the key to attracting people to me. It was something
 that I owned and accepted the importance of for myself in that moment. 

 

So what is this part of me that is so desperate to come out? 
It’s
 this part of me I find so difficult to express through words, but when I
 tap into it via my creations, it feels so natural. The best way I can 
put words to it is like, I’m putting a color to my soul.<img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/1fb785_3ac22febad9949249ceac944febf1f03~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_933,h_980,al_c,q_85/1fb785_3ac22febad9949249ceac944febf1f03~mv2.jpg"> </div>I
 believe it is the same for all of us as artists. It’s the engine is 
that makes your heart beat. It is the machine that gives your soul a 
voice. It is what connects the love in your soul to the love in your 
heart. It’s the connection to your tribe that the love facilitates. 
There are infinite ways to express it, and it’s your duty as an artist 
to find the most beautiful ways to express it. 
But you don’t have to do it alone. 
I’m here to help you find that beauty. 

 

I would love to help you make that internal transformation. If you have the same passion for seeking beauty(and I think you do, if you’re still with me here),
 let’s make it happen. You will be so much more comfortable in the way 
you express yourself. It all comes from the same place deep within both 
of us. 

 

The
 power of having one image communicate what you want to express is 
magical. Do you see that as well? I have had an ongoing love affair with
 oil painting that I want to share with the world, and with you. 

 

I
 want to challenge you to think of your art as more than something 
pretty to decorate walls. I want you to just try to think of it as an 
exploration of your own beauty. I
 explore what is beautiful about myself through the act of painting. 
Through this power of beauty, I want to create my personal visual 
language. Then raise it to a level that it that influences the overall 
health of our culture for the better.<div>
What type of world would we live in where everyone felt more comfortable with expressing their deepest passions? 
Does
 that excite you like it excites me? If my words resonate with you, then
 you’re feeling that same excitement right now. And you’re feeling the 
same drive at this moment to change the world. The world needs to notice
 us, because through beauty we can express a passion that the world 
needs to see. That is what I’m here to cultivate as an artist. By owning
 your voice, you can do the same. 

 

If you have a voice you’re afraid of, I understand you. 
If you’re afraid of your world changing because you decide to speak louder, I have been where you are. 
If
 you can say something beautiful that you know the world needs to hear, 
but feel like no one will support you when you say it, I am so right 
there with you. I know how hard it can be. I also know how important it 
is to let it out. Having someone who understands you to help guide it 
into creation can make all the difference. 

 

Just
 like the art I create and sell showcases what I have used my artistic 
voice to say, I can help you create the art inside of you that’s waiting
 to be showcased through your voice.</div>If you are an artist, I will share with you practical advice to make your paintings better, and discuss how I learn to strengthen my artistic voice so you grow your own voice with me. 

 

If
 you collect art, your artistic expression through your art curation is 
important! You can use your artistic voice to express your soul through 
the decoration of your surroundings. 

 

You have a beautiful voice in your soul. Join me, we can build up your voice together. <h2>Benefits</h2>"LAYAWAY PLAN" Every dollar you pledge for this perk goes towards your future purchase of an original painting, print, commission, merch, or anything else I offer on my web store! (can be changed for any amount per month) $5 or more per month: Insider's Club! Get all sorts of different things delivered to your inbox! From tutorials+videos, exclusive high-resolution downloads, works-in-progress, and more! Get one free greeting card with my art on it upon signup. <h2></h2> 
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