Before my art became what it is today, it looked very different.

As far as I recall, I have always been a creative soul. My dad used to say I was the 'hippie' of the house. During my teenage years, my inspirations were music and ceramics until I discovered pottery and painting later in life.

I completed as many short courses as possible, but a career in engineering, followed by medicine, meant that any artistic creation occurred only in the background of my life.

One doesn't fully understand what 'migration' involves unless one has experienced it. Unlinked from what was known to me—my family, my friendships, and my professional work—I had a huge need to feel I belonged here and that I had made the right choice for my family.

In a hopeful search for belonging and healing from mourning what was lost, I started painting again. In the early years after we migrated to Australia, I painted landscapes—drawing visual parallels between Venezuela, where I was born, and my newfound home. It was my way of seeking connection and stitching together two places that shaped me.

I have always been moved by the Acnkowledge of Country. This practice recognises that for Indigenous Australians, 'home' has signified a profound, unbroken connection to this land for over 65,000 years—a relationship that encompasses spiritual belonging, cultural identity, and traditional knowledge passed through countless generations. I deeply relate to this acknowledgment.

In 2021, my painting, 'Road To Nowhere', was a finalist for the Paddington Art Prize. Being recognised by my peers and selected as a finalist of one of the most prestigious landscape art prizes in Australia as an immigrant was and always will be one of the highlights of my career.

I belong!

When I became an Australian citizen, that longing quietly settled. I no longer needed to prove I belonged; I just did. With that shift, I felt a new freedom to explore deeper truths. At the time, I was also working full-time in a hospital as head of the ultrasound department. While I have always loved caring for patients, I had a growing pull towards becoming a full-time artist. It was a quiet, persistent dream.

Eventually, life and my body asked me to pay attention. But more on that for next time.