“Ganymede”
Acrylic on Canvas – January 2017

I wanted to start off the year with a painting of Ganymede for many reasons. It was national bird day, I recently started playing Overwatch. But really, it’s the meaning behind Ganymede that made me want to paint him. You see, he/or she.. not quite sure which they’ve labeled the bird as, is a cute animal that befriends Bastion who is a mech (robot) who’s never known anything but war (and has PTSD). This little bird makes him forget about all of the bad stuff and remember that the world can be a beautiful, peaceful place. Ganymede enlists his help to build a nest on his shoulder, together creating a sense of home.. and when PTSD gets the better of him, comes back with renewed hope.

One of my goals for my Twitch painting streams in 2017 is to try to make the world a better place, if only through our supportive and loving community, and by passing along any tip donations we get to those who could use them far more than I. The first group that I chose to sponsor is an NPO provides education and therapy for kids and women who’ve escaped the Syrian war. Many of these kids suffer from PTSD and are unable to get into the school systems to provide hope and a better future. Project Amal Ousalam (Aka. project hope and peace), gives them the education needed to pass the tests to get into the local school systems and provides music, art, sports and team-building therapies to start to break down the PTSD scars and learn to trust and work together again.

For those who have known war and hatred it’s easy to breed more hate and hostility. Years ago I read a book by a dear friend who worked in the US internment camps in Iraq. She and her colleagues noticed that with providing education and job skills training that those who were interred largely went back and started to rebuild their communities. They also were likely to be grateful and more peaceful with US personnel afterwards. We need to stop seeing race and color and start seeing and trying to help humanity. The only solution I believe to our current world issues is bringing love, education and the skills necessary to have a better life to those who need them. Because really what most of us want anyways is the chance to provide for ourselves and our families without struggle. I think that Ganymede is a good symbol for that hope.

This artwork is a one of a kind piece hand painted by Stephanie Ishler of Hallyu Back. All artwork is for sale unless otherwise specified. If you are interested in purchasing this original painting, contact us here!

In addition, you can also inquire about artwork by emailing this address: contact@hallyuback.com ^^