Unleash your inner Picasso

I am someone who is physically active whether it is running, playing tennis or going to the gym. I found this really helped keep my mind strong and switched off from daily worries. However, last year, an ankle injury, quickly followed by a knee injury and then to top it off a wrist sprain, meant I found myself out of action and stumped: sport was my outlet and without that, how would I switch off?

It was only when a friend reminded me of the hobbies I used to do when I was younger, one of them is painting. Looking back I was excited to reconnect with painting as it was a hobby I really enjoyed. What’s more, I realised how much painting really helped me de-stress and lessen my anxiety. The more I got into painting the more I wanted to learn whether there was direct impact on people’s health from painting.

Here are some of the benefits of painting:

Relaxation

One of the huge benefits to my life that painting has offered is the space to relax and free my mind. I work tirelessly, my roles are relentless and there’s a constant need for delivering at pace. Whilst I do enjoy my job, it can get pressurised and I found when I am stressed, I am definitely not performing my best. However, painting centres me and brings me into the present moment.

When I paint my mind is stimulated, relieving mental strain. Simply escaping from the daily struggles of life and focusing on painting really does lift my mood. A low-stress level leads to a happier, healthier lifestyle overall really, helping me and improving my mental and physical health.

Memory improvement

I could certainly do with this and it has been shown that conceptual visualisation and implementation required when painting does sharpen your memory. People using creative activities such as writing, painting and drawing have less chance of developing memory loss. Art Markman, the author of Smart Thinking and a leading well-respected

voice in the cognitive field, made an argument about how creative solutions to a problem requires going back in memory to find a solution.

Confidence building

How long did it take me to post my painting, fearful of the judgement? Paintings rarely turn out as expected - let’s face it there is only one Picasso so no you’re not going to paint like him. But, you will paint like you, which is so much better! The first step of picking up a paintbrush and just painting means you learn by good old fashioned trial and error, developing new techniques along the way. You learn to become adaptive and come up with creative solutions. You enjoy the process which makes the end result enjoyable no matter what the outcome. And, like many things, the more you do it the better you get.

Communication

Being able to communicate your feelings through painting is another benefit. Leading a team during these times, I’ve had to come up with creative ways to break the ice. Cue my creative art team bonding sessions; you’d be surprised how willing everyone is to get involved and talk about their painting. Being an introvert, painting has helped me form new budding friendships.

Check out the selection of beginners art material in our shop: https://www.thirstypainter.com/shop

     So join a Thirsty Paint event and reap some benefits.