WTF is Emotional Art?
I started painting, drawing, sketching and writing from a really young age. Usually to pass the time during the Vermont winter months where it was too cold to go outside and the only TV in our house was occupied by other family members. As time went on, the habit of locking myself in my room painting and creating grew into my own personal therapy. I painted when I was upset, frustrated, and angry. I painted and drew to escape what was happening outside the confines of my bedroom walls and used lines, shapes and colors to express what I felt like I couldn’t say out loud. After every solo art ‘session’, I emerged feeling relaxed, refreshed, and accomplished.
Emotional art to me, is art that doesn’t serve anyone outside of yourself. There are no rules, guidelines, expectations, or outside influence. You paint whatever looks and feels good to you at the time, allowing your full emotions and expression to flood the canvas. Sure, it would be great if others liked your creation but in the end, who cares? Most individuals aren’t trying to become professional artists; they are just trying to find whatever ounce of joy they can in this messed up world, enjoy time with loved ones, and excel in their chosen career path. The goal of creating emotional art therefore is not the final product, but the mental benefits you achieve while creating. Benefits being:
Time to Reflect:
When you are creating art, you are, for the most part, alone with your thoughts. You aren’t watching TV, on the phone, catching up on work emails, or scrolling through social media. While you are there splashing colors around or scribbling frantically, your mind finally catches a break on the constant stimulation of the outside world and you are able to spend this time in your own head, thinking about things that are important to you.
Release of Subconscious Feelings and Expression:
Abstract art allows artists to express themselves freely without being constrained by representation or realism. This freedom can help artists tap into their emotions and innermost thoughts, allowing them to create art that is deeply personal and meaningful. This goes along with item #1 on my list… while you are taking the time to reflect, feelings or thoughts that you haven’t had the time to feel during your busy or everyday life can make its way to the surface. Although bringing subconscious feelings to the front of your conscious mind such as jealousy, anxiety, and worry can be painful in the moment, acknowledging how and why you’re feeling this way is the first step in determining a solution to feel better.
Increased Creative Levels & Generation of Fresh Ideas
Studies have shown we are 95% less creative at age 30 than at age 5. We have been told over and over the way things ‘should’ be. What we should like to do on the weekends, what type of clothes we should be wearing, what jobs we should have to be ‘successful’, what brands we should be buying, and what kind of things we should desire out of a partner. We have been told how to look, dress, act, purchase in almost every situation. Everything we consume and experience has an impact on us and tells us how we should be behaving. Just like your body needs routine nourishment and exercise, your mind needs freedom of expression and playfulness such as that provided in abstract art. This mental release attempts counteract the messages that are being drilled into us daily and allows space to produce fresh and innovative ideas.
Building Confidence:
Again, emotional art is for you so doesn’t matter if people admire your work or not (although compliments are always nice to hear). The confidence piece comes from finishing a project, putting yourself out there to try something new, and spending time to focus and work on yourself vs catering to others.
Like most of us in 2020, I returned back to my hobby roots and started painting again after years to wield off the loneliness and depression felt during the lockdowns. I decided to start SAD GIRL PAINTS shortly after as a way to share my love for painting and benefits I experienced of abstract art with others.
To the observer, emotional art might look like a child’s finger painting. To the creator, the shapes, lines, colors can reveal souls.
