Art is my Therapy

When the paint brush is in my right hand, moving down for a stroke of paint off my wooden palette, with a blank canvas in front of me is where I feel I most belong. Art is my therapy, it brings my mind to ease, and fills my heart with joy. I love to express my feelings through my artwork and to draw about things that are important to me. Art challenges me to access the deepest roots of my creativity. I enjoy adding lots of bright colors to make the artwork really pop and mix matching light and dark shades for contrast. I love to see the smiles on my friends and family’s faces when I gift them with artwork. Art is something so meaningful, I leave parts of myself in every piece that I create, it is the perfect gift.

Peace of mind is what I would call it, the feeling I get when I am zoning in on my art. Where I feel I am in my own world, while in this far off dimension alone surrounded by creativity and endless possibilities. I feel overwhelmed with bliss, like I am walking on cloud nine and the world is so far beneath my feet that I cannot see it with my own two eyes. Far above the city that never sleeps, the problems of yesterday, and the anxieties of tomorrow, I feel above all my problems like I am a giant looking down on an ant. As I feel euphoria, I use my pencil to sketch my feelings, and color to fill in the blanks. I write a story with no words, like my canvas is a therapist and I am in need of therapy. Which is true except I do not need therapy, I need a paint brush and some paint. Art is my remedy; it relieves me of stress, takes away my worries, and frees me from doubt. I love to dedicate art to memories, places, people, and things that are important to me. One of my favorite things to do is to paint a sunrise in various places, because a sunrise is a symbol to me, of new beginnings and new opportunities. Behind every pretty picture is a deeper meaning and behind every paint brush is an author with a story to tell.

There are three primary colors, red, yellow, and blue, these colors cannot be made, in fact these colors make up every color we know. Three secondary colors orange, green, and violet. Secondary colors are created by mixing primary colors. Six tertiary colors, red orange, yellow orange, yellow green, blue green, blue violet, and red violet, these colors are produced from mixing primary colors with secondary colors. All these colors make up what we know as the color wheel. I learned all of this in my 8th grade advanced art class. Color theory was the first subject we learned, and our first project was the color wheel. We used only red, yellow, and blue colored pencils with blending techniques to fill out a whole color wheel, I still have the same color wheel till this day. This project turned on a light bulb in my brain. Learning how to use color, hue, and shading to convey emotions in my art, changed everything. Color theory also opened my eyes to a lot of detail, and overall made me a better artist. I enjoy messing around with every color, every shade, and every hue, until I find the perfect match for my artwork. In fact, different colors have different effects on your mood. I love using a variety of colors with a similar hue to carry out a mood within my art. Finishing a very precise, detailed work of art that I put my all into, is something that makes me proud and something that brings me joy.

Gifts put a smile on my face no matter how big or how small. I enjoy giving gifts more than I do receive them. There is so many ways to achieve the perfect gift using art, because you get to personalize your artwork to whomever you are creating it for, so simple yet so meaningful. For example, one day I was out on the beach when I collected a pretty white seashell, later that day I was at home and decided I would paint my mother's favorite flower in the shape of a heart and give it to her. She loved it; in fact, she keeps it on her work desk till this day. I have also been given artwork, that I cherish from people I love, and I even use it as decoration in my room. My sister drew, colored, and cut out beautiful butterflies with scissors and gave them to me, because my name means butterfly. I keep these butterflies on my wall so I can always look at them. Butterflies are also a symbol of so many great things, it was the perfect gift. I adore those butterflies, it is the simple things in life that bring me joy.

In short, art is my therapy, and it is the craft that fills me with joy. I love everything about art, from learning new things of the craft, to using a paint brush to tell a story, down to even mixing paints on my wooden palette to get the perfect color. I believe life itself is a work of art.