Art Therapy

Painting en plein air in Cornwall. It took me good 4-5 hours and a couple of sunburnt patches to complete it.

When one says ‘Art Therapy’ the first thing, which springs in mind, is immersing yourself in one of the creative hobbies whether it’s drawing, painting, ceramics or photography. Many of us have found ourselves taking up one of these activities to cope with a period of intense stress whether it was a pandemic, a loss of the beloved one, or a total meltdown in life. However, it’s not just arts and crafts making can help you to better endure a stressful time.

Surrounding yourself with beautifully designed pieces is not just aesthetically pleasing, it also provokes positive emotions and ‘feeling good’ vibes. Thoroughly selected colour scheme, decorative elements and light can help to create a desired atmosphere in each space of your home whether it’s a living room, a bedroom or a study.

I am very pleased with this painting, which now proudly hangs in my living room. It constantly reminds me of that beautiful sunny Cornish day, channelling happy vibes to help to cope with miserably cold winter days.

However, it’s not art is not purely about the aesthetics. Art helps us to deeper understand ourselves, to better tune in to the emotions of others, to develop a deeper feeling of sympathy and to find hope and the source of growth in difficult periods of our lives. We subconsciously relate to a certain art piece given a particular moment we are experiencing in our lives and it often helps us to understand and, ultimately, deal better with a situation we found ourselves in.

I have included here the snaps from one of my en plein air painting sessions, which allowed me to capture this beautiful sunny summer day in Cornwall and bring it to my flat in London. Every time I look at it, the smile appears on my face reminding of this happy moment. I could literally hear the seagulls flying by and could breathe in fresh sea breeze. Art does magic!