There is a lot of power in art – in creating it, experiencing it, sharing it. I recall the early days of my childhood, as I found myself being drawn to colours, shapes and textures. I drew and painted all the time, it was my escape to a world of imagination and freedom. There were many a times when I found being left with a piece of paper and colouring pencils to occupy myself, to be the greatest form of expressive therapy for myself. I felt centred, relaxed and peaceful with myself, as I drew and painted.
Even now, as I am creating art for a living, I have never found myself getting tired by all the mental and emotional benefits that it provides. As you might have seen in previous blogs, I have always strongly believed in the incredible impact of art on all of our wellbeing, as I have experienced first- hand the relationship art and healing share.
This is why I wanted to write this blog – I wanted to share the amazing benefits of creating art and how having an art practice can perhaps transform your life. So, what are these perks that I have found helpful? Here they are:
It is a form of meditation
We all know the many benefits of meditation and bringing mindful in our daily lives. The beauty of creating visual art or just the art experience itself is a form of meditation. You can just find yourself staring at a piece of artwork and lose yourself within the present moment which is the essence of mindfulness. There have been plenty of clients of mine, who have shared with me that they find a meditative quality to my work, especially with my bigger pieces like the ones that can be found in my series Psychomachia. They find that the mix of colours, monotones and patterns in my pieces can be quite soothing. You are more than welcome to have a look at these artworks in my online store.
Creating art helps you process thoughts and emotions
Mental health is equally important as your physical health and it is with active self-care and with the help of medical professionals, we can make sure that our mental health is being taken care of and a high priority for us. As a visual artist I cannot begin to tell you how liberating and reaffirming it is when I stand in front of a canvas, ready to have my emotions and thoughts run free. My artistic process has become my coping mechanism for stress and anxiety. God knows, where I would have been had I not discovered the power of art.
It is a stress releaser!
When you sit down to create art, this is your opportunity to just plug out and not have to focus on daily stresses. You can just sketch, doodle, colour or even finger paint – it is the act of sitting down to just express yourself in the form of mindful creativity can be incredibly cathartic, which can help in elevating your stress and perhaps finding some much needed mental and emotional refreshment.
Creating art for connection
An important part of our overall wellbeing has to do with being able to connect with other people and having meaningful interactions. Creating art can help you connect with a number of other people who dabble in art as a hobby or professional. One can join art classes, clubs and communities that focus on all forms of creative mediums and this can be one way of meeting new people and charging up your social batteries. So, you can use art to bond with other people!
We can use art for wellbeing and self improvement and with these amazing benefits, why would you not? So, don’t waste any further time and start exploring all the amazing ways you can be creating art and improving your wellbeing!
Shop my artwork collection here.
Check my digital artwork collection here.
