In the last week of 2019, I was fortunate to see the stunning collection of textile postcards made by my friend as part of the 52 Stitched Stories project. 52 wonderful little worlds of colours, texture and magic. It immediately inspired me to produce 52 painted postcards for 2020.
At that point I had reached a plateau in my painting, canvasses were staring at me all day and I was excelling at ignoring them. I had no motivation or interest in painting, hoping it would magically resolve. Being inspired to rekindle my painting practice with weekly painted postcards was a big shift, but I was amazed by the many other benefits it brought me.
Making this one of my priorities meant that I could no longer avoid painting—at the very least I was going to make a small painting weekly. That had to be better than nothing. But I soon found that each time I came to work on the postcard, I was pulled to work on other paintings at the same time, and pretty soon the studio was once more filled with works in progress. My portfolio grew and my practice became easier, naturally integrated in my days.
Wellbeing Through Art
Coming back to each work in progress kept them alive and vibrant and deepened my connection to intuitive painting. I found more and more confidence as an artist and more joy and relaxation in my life, the excitment of having regular new work to see, to share with the world, deepening what I love to paint, exploring new colours, formats and techniques.
As weeks passed and postcards started to build up, I found that each day I was looking forward to adding a few layers to all my paintings and that I was starting to prioritise painting time as a lifeline. I also loved to see how each postcard was documenting the passing weeks and seasons, giving me even more awareness of my environment, connecting me to myself and to nature, guiding me on how I can choose to spend my time in the most supportive and fulfilling way.
I discovered how much I enjoy working in miniature format, something that I had avoided thus far. An extensive series of tiny paintings started to see the light, and I am really excited to share these with the world when my website goes live in the coming months.
Soothing Art
As I started to share the weekly postcards, I got a sense of how that form of soothing art was enhancing quality of life not just for myself, but for many people. Sharing the work on social media and with close friends and family, I was always reminded that people see them as little jewels, windows into a peaceful world that invites rest and relaxation and can support stability of mind in a joyful, gentle lifestyle. I ordered prints of my postcards and started spreading them, receiving lovely and touching feedback from everyone.
Now almost halfway through the year, I am delighted to see how creating painted postcards each week rekindled my artistic practice and brought benefits beyond imagining, deepening my belief that we can truly find and offer wellbeing through art.
