A few years ago, I decided to take a year off. For many in the corporate world, stopping in the middle of climbing the ladder, it is akin to commiting “Seppuku,” the Japanese expression for suicide (or “hara-kiri” as we Westerners always say).

I never saw it this way. For me, it was a chance – in my prime – to let my creative spirit develop, achieve other things and to finally learn a hobby that I was dabbling into since my childhood: painting. I was always drawing, making copies of paintings, trying to find a few hours once in a while to put something onto a canvas. And while it calmed my craving for artistry, I never had enough time to really improve. My early attempts were amateurish to say the least. Importantly, my wife and I regularly bought modern art and I would have never dared to hang my paintings on our walls next to these pieces of art.

By taking a year off, which I will always thank my wife for allowing me to do and taking the burden of the family income on herself, I set my goals to learn the art of painting and improve to the point that I would feel proud of displaying my art, taking it away from the closet or basement where my previous attempts stayed.

A couple of years later, I brought some of my paintings to a gallery for framing. I was approached by the owner of the gallery, and convinced to show my work.

When I finally felt I was ready, the show took place and – to my surprise – sold most of my paintings. Now the artwork I create has a special place on my walls and on the walls of my fans.

Stirrings for me has another quality on top being a great mixer (I call it a social lubricant); its bottle has iconic qualities. So in my spare time, I began to let my art loose on it.

Stirrings, with its variety, has a great appeal with its bright colors, the shape of the bottle, the great name…so I started to play with it and used computer programs to help me.

The result: something I wanted to share.

If you, like me, feel Stirrings inspires you, send me your Stirrings Creative Art and I will post it on our site.

Ciao