Discovering Surrealism: The Art Style I Didn’t Know I’d Been Creating All Along

If you had asked me a few years ago what my art style was, I probably would’ve said something like, “Uh… bold? Colorful? A little weird?”
I didn’t have the language yet.

But then I painted a piece that stopped me in my tracks.

It was symbolic, emotional, dreamlike, unsettling, and beautiful all at once.
It felt like a dream I had put on canvas before I even understood what it meant.

And when I stepped back and looked at it — really looked — something clicked:

“Oh… I’m a surrealist.”

The realization didn’t come from studying art history.
It came from seeing myself clearly for the first time through my work.
It was like I had been speaking a visual language I didn’t know I knew.

And the more I looked back on my body of work — the floating forms, the distorted time, the symbolism, the emotional intensity — the more obvious it became.
I tripped and fell straight into Surrealism… and it feels like home.

🌙 So What Is Surrealism, Really?

Surrealism is one of the most misunderstood art movements, but it’s also one of the most powerful.

Here’s the simplest way to explain it:

Surrealism is the art of the mind, not the art of the eye.

It came from dreams, subconscious thoughts, intuition, emotional memory, and symbolism.
It’s less about what you see and more about what you feel.

The movement officially began in the 1920s after World War I, when artists felt that the real world was too broken, too chaotic, and too logical to make sense anymore.
So they turned inward — into dreams, imagination, and the unconscious.

Surrealist art often includes:

• dreamlike landscapes

• unexpected combinations of objects

• altered reality

• symbolism

• distortion of time or identity

• emotional depth

• things that feel true even if they can’t be explained

Artists like Salvador Dalí, René Magritte, Frida Kahlo, Leonora Carrington, and Yves Tanguy embraced this style because it let them explore the inner world.

Surrealism gives permission to be honest in ways literal realism never could.

🔥 Why Surrealism Matters (Especially Now)

People today are overwhelmed — overstimulated, overworked, and emotionally exhausted.
Traditional art sometimes feels too neat, too clean, too simple.

But surrealism?
Surrealism tells the truth without needing words.

It says:

• Here is what fear looks like.

• Here is what loss feels like.

• Here is what hope looks like when it’s trying to break through.

• Here is memory.

• Here is transformation.

• Here is the part of you you can’t explain to anyone else.

That’s why surrealism still matters — because we still have subconscious worlds that want to be seen.

🎨 How I Accidentally Became a Surrealist

I didn’t sit down one day and say, “I’m going to become a surrealist.”
It just… happened.

As I grew as an artist, I started gravitating toward imagery that felt symbolic and emotional instead of literal. I didn’t want to paint what something looked like — I wanted to paint what it meant.

And when I look back at pieces like these:

(Insert images of your works — the melting face/time, Alice “Drink Me,” and La Catrina — all 100% surrealist in tone.)

… I can see now that I wasn’t just painting scenes.
I was painting metaphors.
I was painting the subconscious.
I was painting symbolism I didn’t know I was speaking.

The floating objects.
The melting timepiece.
The emotional distortion.
The symbolism in color and composition.
The dreamlike environments.
The psychological tension.

It’s all deeply, naturally surrealist — and somehow, I didn’t notice until recently.

It turns out I’ve been a surrealist all along.

🌌 Why Surrealism Fits Me at My Core

My entire life has been shaped by emotion, meaning, symbolism, and transformation.

I grew up young, crafting from necessity and creativity.
I ran a nonprofit SUD treatment program for nearly 20 years, helping people rebuild their lives from the inside out.
I’ve lived lives within lives — mother, maker, counselor, caregiver, artist.

And surrealism is the one artistic language that makes room for all of that.

Surrealism is about:

• transformation

• healing

• emotional truth

• contradictions

• symbolism

• the parts of ourselves that don’t make sense until we paint them

When I realized that, everything clicked into place.

This isn’t a style I chose.
This is a style that chose me.

✨ Where I’m Going From Here

Leaning into surrealism feels like stepping fully into myself.

It gives me the freedom to create bold, weird, emotional work that tells stories in ways realism never could.
It lets me blend symbolism, emotion, psychology, dream logic, spiritual meaning, and lived experience.

And going forward, I’m excited to explore it more intentionally:

• more symbolic imagery

• more subconscious storytelling

• more emotional landscapes

• more pieces that make you stop and think

• more art that speaks in feelings, not facts

Surrealism isn’t just a style.
It’s my mother tongue — I just didn’t realize it until recently.

📣 If You Want More Surrealism…

I’m creating a whole section of my portfolio dedicated to this side of my work.

If you’re a collector who loves bold, symbolic, dreamlike art, or if you want a surreal piece created just for you, reach out.
There’s room in this world for beauty that doesn’t behave.

And I intend to make a lot more of it.