Yeon Joo Lee

Cactus Splendor

Acrylic

"My garden has a rather large variety of plants with an exception to cacti. Each and every cactus lies to me, pretending that there is a lack of water by looking dry. I fall for their lies every time and end up giving too much water, which unfortunately causes them to fade. Thus, I plant them on the canvas, and they’ve never been healthier.

My artwork was not created with a specific value or nature in mind but rather is a product of myself coming out of a shell filled with anxiety and fear. Everyone equally desires to see a positive future, and everyone wishes to leave their own difficult situation in order for a better life. No matter how successful an individual is, there will always be something that is in the way between that individual and a 'perfect life.'"

— Yeon Joo Lee

About the artist

Yeon Joo Lee

My name is Yeon Joo Lee.

For the first time in 35 years, I held a paint brush and I finished a painting on a canvas.

My dreams of becoming an artist were cut short from the age of 10 due to financial and family reasons. Ever since then, the thought alone of holding a brush pained my soul and so I deterred myself away from art as a whole. The emotions that have accumulated throughout these years made me understand that I should encourage my two sons to chase their dreams no matter what. One day, my older son asked me a simple question: “Mom, what is your dream?” I responded back, “It WAS to be an artist. I’m not sure if it still can be my dream.”

That night, my older son bought me a new canvas, my younger son bought me a new easel, and my husband bought me an assortment of paint brushes and paint. It was one of the best nights in my life and it excites me to no end to know that I still have decades before my eyes grow weary.

I have no mentors and no education in art. I have no professional experience thus no biography. But, I’m excited to become the artist that I’ve always wanted to be.