“Addiction” is a series of three acrylic paintings made for my VAM10 independent project. Capturing the negative effects of addiction from alcoholism, heroine, and nicotine and the isolation experienced by addicts. This was done through the use of imagery and color. In my Nicotine painting, for example, a lightly coloured woman is surrounded by thick, dark smoke that consumes her. My alcohol painting has a white silhouette drowning in alcohol with shadowed hands coming out to grab them. Showing how hard it is to actually break free from addiction, and my heroine painting, with the silhouette of someone fading out, being isolated and alone. My main inspiration for the creation of these pieces came from family members and people in my life struggling with addiction. My biggest inspiration was specifically my mother's story, when she was young and growing up with an addict and was forced to witness someone's mental health decline firsthand, as well as my uncle, who is a recovering addict. This is why I chose to theme my paintings around addiction. I try to make my artworks connect personally with myself or the viewer to give them a more genuine feel. And the main message of these paintings is to show people how draining being or knowing an addict can be and to show people that they aren’t alone in their struggles and feelings. I started off each painting with a pencil sketch, giving a rough estimate as to where I wanted the subjects in my paintings to be placed, then went over with a light base coat, adding to it layer by layer. One of the only challenges I’ve faced was getting started and finding the motivation to actually paint. Which is a common struggle among artists. But I forced myself to start painting and just go with the flow. What I wish I could’ve done better was manage my time. I underestimated the amount of time it took to complete one painting, so I had to cut down on the number of paintings I did. Despite the pressure of time, I felt I did a good job, and I feel proud of myself for being able to complete the three paintings. I learned and am still learning to stop being so tense with my paintings and to not be afraid to take risks with them. Along with what works and what doesn’t work with painting techniques, having to paint over and redo things many times. This project has been such a learning experience, and I'm extremely happy and grateful for the results and my improvement in art.