Site Content
Naomi Czupryna
I am an Army combat veteran. I deployed twice to Baghdad, Iraq in charge of convoys within the city. During my second deployment, I was wounded and sent home to heal broken bones. On that day, June 6, 2011, five Soldiers died from massive explosions all around our base in the early morning hours. Some had been in the shower and run to a bunker wrapped in a towel. I was knocked unconscious. One more died in Boston after being transferred during our flight over the Atlantic.
I’ve seen therapists and been given medications to help with the anxiety and depression of having survived. I’ve struggled. I’ve fought. I’ve nearly died. I’ve survived, barely alive. But it wasn’t until nearly a decade after the events of my trauma that I read a story that inspired me to pick up a paintbrush. Each swipe of the brush has helped me heal. I can’t tell you enough how painting has made me feel alive when I was slowly dying inside.
I’m an oil over mixed media artist. The majority of my work starts with a charcoal sketch covered with inks and acrylic paint, then finished with a coat of oil paint to bring the work to life. I will sometimes include collage, spray paint, or gold leaf if the work calls for that medium.
Message of Hope: Take one day at a time when you are in despair. And know I’m
rooting for you, no matter who you are.
Contact
IG: naomicz | email: nrczupryna@outlook.com | Based in Cape Cod, MA
Gallery
Forward Thinking
12x12 inch Canvas. Oil over mixed media.
This foxy friend shows how a little cunning and thought can move us closer to our dreams. “Forward Thinking” is a piece I made to make me smile on a hard day because we can’t let those hard days stop us from dreaming, hoping, and pursuing a better life.
Serene Reflections
36x36 inch canvas. Oil over mixed media.
This piece was created in the middle of the night after waking up from a nightmare. It’s about finding peace in
the middle of some of the worst moments in life and knowing you will thrive anyway.
Persistence Embodied
24x36 inch canvas. Oil over mixed media.
This work is about overcoming insurmountable obstacles, including your own limiting beliefs. It can seem
absolutely impossible, but when you stop thinking about it and just start moving
forward, one step, one hand-hold, one breath at a time, you are climbing over that mountain. And nothing can stop you.
Constant Friend
12x16 inch canvas. Oil over mixed media.
This work is for anyone that has had to remake themselves in fire and come back stronger. You are made of
steel and will never break. There is also a small part of me that believes we are guided by a guardian angel to be this better, stronger version of ourselves. This painting is both me and that angel, my constant friend.
Guardian of Wonder
12x16 inch canvas. Oil over mixed media.
This piece is a work to show the constant love to give yourself and to guard your inner child, that part of
yourself that finds beauty and awe-inspiring moments in this world.