Last year, I took a painting class at Cosumnes River College. For my class, I had to create a self portrait.  On my self portrait, I painted an Italian flag because my family is from Italy. I also painted the American flag on the left because I am American.  I love to draw, and I like to be creative, so I painted a book ("How to Draw") and placed it on the table in my painting.  I painted a laptop computer on the canvas because I do a lot of work on my computer.  I painted a picture of myself on the laptop screen.  I included the computer in my painting because I have a Web Design Certificate, and I have developed and maintained a few websites for different companies.  The Mickey Mouse symbol on my shirt is because I like to go to Disneyland. My dream job is to do animations for Disney. The purple cross with the I-LOVE-YOU hand sign is important to me because I'm Christian, and I use  sign language to communicate. There's wine bottle on the table on the left with purple grapes because I enjoy having a glass of wine, and it is a part of my Italian culture.

I learned some cool things when I was painting this self portrait. I looked on the internet to find out how to paint my table to make it look like wood. I used a light tan color first, and then I used dark brown and painted over the light tan color.  While the dark brown was wet, I scraped it with a dry sponge to make the wood grain lines.  I think it came out looking close to real wood grain.  Also, to help me paint straight lines with my shaky hands, I used tape to cover areas on my canvas.  It took a lot of time, but it helped make my painting look better.  I always look for ways to do things even with my disabilities.  I try to never give up.  I pray, and I persevere, and I always try my best! 

~Geoffrey