Painted entirely by myself next to an artist friend. Not knowing my unique visual processing back then, I just painted what I saw directly.

My first still life, created right after the rose. I painted what I saw entirely on my own using basic watercolor techniques from my school days, with no art knowledge. In January 2026, this very piece led to the discovery that my vision is completely different from the default human way of seeing. While working on this piece, an artist friend showed me how to add highlights using white paint. However, it felt unnatural to me because I didn't actually see any white in that spot. Today, the reason for that mismatch is crystal clear.

My third oil painting ever. Without any practice, sketching lessons, or formal art knowledge, I just captured what was in front of my eyes. Back then, I honestly thought drawing and painting easily was just something everyone could do as adults.

Suggested by an artist friend during the early pandemic lockdowns. I had no special feeling for flowers and painted this quite reluctantly, not even knowing how to tackle it. This piece taught me that I lose all motivation when I don't feel connected to the subject.

With plenty of free time during the pandemic lockdowns, I decided to paint our dog. Even though I had no idea how to approach painting a pet, I just went with the flow and applied the exact colors right in front of my eyes. February 22, 2020

Chihuahua Portrait #2 — 6th Oil Painting Overall I painted this without much of a plan. I tried adding white highlights on the advice of an artist friend, but it just felt fake. Now I understand that the key is simply painting the exact colors as they appear to my eyes.

A portrait of our cat painted around April 2020, with a touch of inspiration from Renoir in mind. Apart from the works I’ve posted, I have never created any other paintings, nor do I ever practice. Every single piece is a direct, one-shot attempt.

Completed on April 3, 2021. I made the initial sketch four months earlier and then left it untouched for four months. This was my beloved cat, who passed away this April. 😢 I don't really remember knowing how to paint her; I only remember instinctively figuring out how to paint her somehow.

April 3, 2021 — I quickly painted a lemon and a pear I bought at the supermarket in about two hours

With no reference or subject to work from, this was the first time I tried to paint a whimsical, fairy-tale-like scene entirely from my imagination. Later, I discovered that I also have aphantasia, which explained why painting from imagination is so difficult for me. This painting was extremely challenging as well. So I decided never to paint without a reference again.

March 30, 2022 — A friend who is an artist taught me how to paint, and I painted a person for the first time. I’m on the left, and my artist friend’s painting is on the right. I remember it being difficult because we painted on a smooth board rather than on canvas.

After painting my first portrait with my artist friend, I thought, I can do this on my own! So I decided to paint this parody. By coincidence, my artist friend stopped by while I was working on it. The first thing they said when they saw the painting was, "That's creepy." I felt as if my work had been rejected by a professional artist. I was so upset and disappointed that, that night, I scraped the painting with a palette knife. Now I understand why they reacted that way. Because I can't simplify or symbolize what I see, my paintings seem to appear unusually raw and lifelike, which can make them feel unsettling to other people. I still regret scraping this painting.

April 3, 2022 — After my parody painting was called “creepy” by a professional artist, I was determined to prove myself and decided to take painting more seriously. I have never practiced drawing or painting. The number of paintings I have completed is the total number of paintings I have ever made in my life. People are more difficult for me to paint than still lifes or animals. 💦

Completed around the end of October 2024. I left this painting unfinished for a year and a half after starting it, and finally completed it a year and a half later. Since I’m not an artist and painting isn’t really a hobby of mine, it was perfectly normal for me to go a year and a half without painting. 💦

November 23, 2024 — I suddenly felt like painting a human face, so I painted this 12-year-old in about two hours.

I painted this bird reluctantly at my husband’s request. I had no idea how to paint a subject I wasn’t interested in, so I left it unfinished for several months. I always start each painting from a reset state, but when the subject is something I don’t like, I can’t even see how I’m supposed to paint it.

It was finally completed around Christmas last year, in December 2026. 💦 I actually started painting it three and a half years earlier. I don’t really have an appreciation for flowers, so painting the hydrangea petals one by one became frustrating, and I eventually couldn’t bring myself to continue. Since I had already gotten partway through the painting, I decided to finish it three and a half years later. However, I had lost the reference photo. I can only paint what I actually see, so without a reference photo, I’m completely stuck. For the first time, I had to rely on my imagination and construct the image myself, including deciding how the light would fall on the flowers. That’s how I managed to finish it. I probably won’t ever paint flowers again. 😢

Completed in January 2026. I started painting it about ten months earlier and then left it unfinished for all that time. At this point, I still didn’t know that my visual perception was unusual.This was the last painting I made before realizing that the way I see is different from the human visual default.