My name is Austin Sandro, James, Gordon. I was not born in the United States of America. No, In fact, I am a Brasilian who was born in poverty in a small city in Brasil named, Irati. I lived on a small hill that had lots of small shacks pilled on top of each other. My shack home was a small blue one, probably why my favorite color is blue. Living in poverty I knew what it was like to have nothing. I knew what it felt like to get your daily meals from a trash can. I have experienced the horrors of poverty.
My life really began one late afternoon with a tragic event that changed my life forever. It all started with my cruel neighbors when they one day decided to harass my birth Mom, my little sister Sandra, and I. My neighbors even went as far as to throw rocks, rotten food and whatever they could find, at my family. My birth Mom could not take, it was too much for her. She went crazy, she screamed stop over, and over again, until she finally collapsed and fainted from all the stress. The government came and took my birth Mom to a hospital, and seeing that she could not take care of my sister and I, the government brought us to a orphanage.
It is interesting how, and where GOD places us in our lives. The orphanage that I was brought to was just down the hill from my little shack house. This orphanage was named, “Cidade da Criança” which translates to “City of Kids”. In Cidade da Criança, GOD provided more than enough for my little sister and I. HE provided food, shelter, care and love from all of those who took care of me. GOD even provided me with the opportunity to go to school and get a education. It was a wonderful blessing, I had plenty of food to eat, no more eating out of the trash cans. I had a roof on top of my head, and there where lots of other kids in the orphanage to play with.
In Cidade da Criança all the kids and I loved being creative. I loved to decorate cards, to draw, and create new things. Art was always a part of my life. Art really started for me with cartoons. Just like all the other kids in the orphanage, I too was glued to the television when it was on. The one cartoon that really got me started on drawing was Dragon Ball Z. I loved drawing the heroes with their muscles, might and glory. I would draw them every day, thus the Artist was first born with in me.
After five years of living in Cidade da Criança, GOD was about to change my life yet again. HE brought a beautiful, godly, strong Christian family from the U.S.A. to Brasil to adopt my sisters and I. At that moment I had two sisters. After falling in love at first sight, and spending a month with my new family, GOD then brought me to the United States of America. The land of the free, the home of the brave, and the land of many opportunities. In the U.S.A. GOD provided more than enough for me. HE gave me so much! HE gave me plenty of food, shelter, friends, care and love from my new family.
GOD provided me with a wonderful chance in life. HE gave me a chance in growing stronger in my education, knowledge, skills and most importantly in my relationship with HIM. GOD has given me the gift of art. Art has been a huge part of my life. It is how I expresses my thoughts, my feelings, messages and love. Art has always been a escape from this world for me. It is very personal to me. It is calming, peaceful and it is just full of emotions pouring from my heart. Some times I feel like Art is all that I am good for.
I did not truly recognized this gift that GOD gave to me until I was a teenager. The more I drew the better I got. My parents always encouraged me to keep on drawing. As I graduated from high-school, I already knew what I wanted to pursue in college, Art. As I looked for colleges to attend, GOD lead me to PCC. I already had visited PCC, and I knew that PCC had a wonderful Art program, so I decided that I would attend PCC.
At PCC, I learned so much more about art. I learned all the important basics about drawing. I learned more about painting with oils, acrylics, and water colors. However, my strongest point, my favorite medium that I learned more about is digital painting. I am capable of working with traditional medium, but my personal preference is digital painting. I love illustrating! My biggest dream is to write and illustrate my very own story, and share GOD love, and Gospel story with the lost world. Much like J.R.R Tolken, and C.S. Lewis, and Ted Dekker.
“The Christian in the one whose imagination should fly beyond the stars.” Francis A. Schaeffer, Art & the Bible.