My First Painting Ever

Bruna Massadas, Untitled (Cerritos), 2001. Acrylics on canvas panel, 12 X 9 inches.

During the summer, Cerritos is breezy and the sky is cobalt blue. Many violet agapanthus blossom during this time of year creating a beautiful contrast with the deep green grass that could be found everywhere in the city.

I moved to Cerritos when I was 15. I often walked to Westgate Park in the late afternoons and appreciated the harmony of the man-made landscape. Most summer days, however, I spent hours in my room. There, I drew with my Faber-Castell watercolor pencils while listening to the sound of my fan. From time to time, I painted in the garage while my mother was gardening. This painting, my first painting ever, was made under these circumstances.  

At that time, the act of painting had the clear purpose to kill time—since as a recent immigrant I had very few friends. What I did not expect was to find myself in a meditative and reflective state. Maybe that is why I continued to paint.

When I recently found this painting, I was surprised with its resemblance to the Cerritos summer landscape—the colors and the breezy movement. I was also surprised with the many similarities between this painting and my current paintings—the color palette and the brushstrokes as well as the theme of nature.