Ricky Di
Published: November 22, 2006
A lone mountain resting in the soft glow of moonlight.a warm orange sun emerging over the ocean’s calm morning tide.a raging thunderhead casting a dull grey darkness over the plains below; these are all images one would expect to appear on the canvas of a seasoned artist.
However, what sets these masterpieces apart from their museum-bound counterparts is that they were all created by a young woman with absolutely no formal training in art.
Miriah Wells, an 18-year old student at PJC, joyfully demonstrates her natural affinity for painting and, in the process, invokes the wraths of art majors everywhere.
Armed only with a set of Wal-Mart paints and “three really old paintbrushes,” Wells draws inspiration for her masterworks from her love for God.
“Most of my inspiration comes from Bible verses I read,” Wells said.
Wells, a member of <b><a href=”https://www.baptistcollegiateministries.org/”>Baptist Collegiate Ministries</a></b>, takes her Biblical inspirations and, in an intangible reverie, translates them onto the canvas.
“As corny and clich‚ as it sounds, other stuff does tend to just fade out, and I work on trying to perfect the visual in my head,” Wells said.
“I typically paint when I am in a high energy mood,” Wells said. “This may be because I feel like expressing emotions to simply get them out or because I’m trying to put how I feel about something on canvas.”
Wells’ artwork has attracted admiration from her friends and family as well.
“I’m not a big art person so I wouldn’t know what’s considered ‘good’ artwork, but I really like looking at Miriah’s paintings, and I get excited when she’s finished another one,” said Erin King, FSU freshman and long-time friend of Wells.
“I like that she uses Bible verses as her models for the paintings,” King said. “I can really feel Miriah’s love for God through them, because with every brush stroke she is thinking of her Lord and Savior and trying to please Him. I look forward to watching her improve.”
Although Wells has no plan of making her unique gift into a career, she still plans to stick with it and keep painting. “Paint what you want to paint and paint what you feel,” Wells said. “Do it for your own pleasure – no other reasons.”