An old hobby

Obviously, through my career, two of my strongest art forms have been writing and photography. However, recently, I’ve rediscovered the joy in doing another form, painting.

A little while ago, I did a freestyle type online painting session over Zoom with another person. It brought back memories of fun art classes in elementary school and doing crafts at home with my mom and sister when I was much younger. I’ve also found it’s a great outlet to relieve stress and deal with emotional situations.

I’ve always been amazed how something as simple as painting, listening to music, or singing can make someone feel a lot better. I can really appreciate the role art therapists play to help hospital patients and people dealing with mental health issues now.

This process has also shown me, I’m not very skilled in bringing my initial vision to the canvas or creating any sort of a realistic–looking picture. But I’ve still found it fun anyway. You don’t have to be a worldwide famous artist or even someone who is somewhat good at art to enjoy painting, especially when you are just making pieces of art for yourself.

Prior to this year, I don’t really remember the last time I created a painting myself. It could’ve been at a birthday party, at school, or with a paint by number set I worked on years ago. It’s been a long time since I created a painting.

Over the years, I’ve interviewed a number of artists who have talked about what their works mean to them. Many times, a piece has a special story or is from a significant time in a person’s life.

Yet, in my experience, I’ve noticed those words don’t really sink in until you actually take part in the process yourself. I don’t think I’d ever make it as a professional painter or artist, so I will stick with what I do best as a reporter. But I still plan on putting the brush to the canvas every so often for fun.

#column #columnist #DanCearns #painting