Painting my emotions on canvas has made me into a better person. During the lock-down, there was a drastic change in my life, I have to move back to India, live with my parents, let go of the job, and be locked inside the house. All the plans I had made for 2020 were destroyed. My life just turned upside down having no control over anything. That is when I decided to paint after giving it up for 5 years. Painting has been my passion since i was a kid and exploring it again was exactly what I needed.
Its been months now, Art has been my escape and my support system. Picking up the brush and smearing the colors after many years, felt remarkably good. I somehow felt empowered and felt like I am back in control of my life. It did wonders for me helping me unfold my overlooked skills.
It filled me up with creativity. It brought back a few techniques that I had forgotten. Being caught up in the analytical work all day, painting helped me stimulate and nurture my creative side. It opened up my brain to new possibilities helping me take a creative approach in day to day life. It had awoken the artist in me who didn’t care about following the rules, rather focused on creating the new pieces and exploring the possibilities. Canvas presented an open setting where I felt secure to explore my talent.
“Creativity is inventing, experimenting, growing, taking risks, breaking rules, making mistakes, and having fun.”
— Mary Lou Cook
It empowered me and gave me a sense of accomplishment. By creating gorgeous art, I was encouraged and developed an optimistic outlook on life. It boosted my self-esteem and inspired me to do better at other tasks as well. I created visually appealing paintings that gave me a sense of pride and happiness. I discovered that it did not just provide me energy but it also helped me in relieving mental stress.
“Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.”
–Thomas Merton
It helped me tackle anxiety with the process of creating art. It guided me unwind and think clearly. It’s a fact that low-stress levels lead to a more peaceful and healthier mental state. The paintings allowed me an opportunity to express my feelings and emotions. I was no longer restricted from words. The colors, shapes, and lines gave me endless possibilities to express my inner thoughts. It gave me a platform to tell a story through conceptual visualization and implementation.
“Creativity doesn’t wait for that perfect moment. It fashions its own perfect moments out of ordinary ones.”
— Bruce Garrabrandt
It gave me freedom. Every time I held the paintbrush I felt like I had the power to create a new world for me. So what, if I am stuck at home – I painted beautiful mountains, lakes, forests, and landscapes that were a sight to behold. I painted beautiful flowers and a mystical sky. And once those are completed I look at them and fell content.
“To express the emotions of life, is to live. To express life of emotions is to make art”
–Jane Heap
It helped me manage my emotions. I spilled my emotions through the process of painting. Let me tell you something, color psychology is very true. With the kind of colors, I am picking I become well aware of my emotional state. Anytime I am choosing more blue, brown, and black I know something isn’t right. Looking at my paintings you can discover my feelings such as happiness, sadness, love, or anger. Usually, the emotions I am going through while painting reflects in my art. It is my way of letting go of the bad thoughts or emotions that I didn’t even know I had. It works as a healing therapy through abstract interpretation.
Rediscovering my love for painting helped me be open-minded, be in control of my life, process my emotions better and most of all help me immensely with promoting positive mental health. It made me into a self-aware and a better person. It’s my escape to a happy place, where the only limitation is my imagination.
“Everything you can imagine is real.”
— Pablo Picasso