Yes, painting and drawing can bring great benefits, even and especially to those people who, in 99% of their time, do everything else. In fact, just the fact of painting can improve all our other activities.
On the other hand, it’s useless to hide behind the excuse of ‘not having time’: if you manage to organize yourself correctly, you can find time for painting without any problems. Even Winston Churchill, who for better or for worse led a country through some of the darkest periods of the last century, continued to cultivate painting, arriving among other things at very respectable results.
In short, really anyone, regardless of his job and his education, can start to draw and paint. And if on the side of possibility there are no doubts, we will now try to make you understand not only why you could, but also why you should start painting… for your own well-being.
You should start painting because… it improves concentration
Have you ever watched a child while, armed with colored markers and a scrapbook, he is intent on coloring some figure? Watching from a distance, without disturbing him, you’ll see him totally absorbed in that activity, as if nothing else in the world existed at that moment, or at least, nothing else of equal importance. A drawing to color, a set of markers – or colored pencils – can even distract children from cartoons, and that’s no small feat!
Well, that concentration of children coloring can also be replicated in adults: just give them pencils, markers or paintbrushes. Recent studies have in fact shown that the activity of coloring and then painting, forcing us to think carefully about a single activity, eliminating distractions and digressions, helps us to regain concentration.
You should start painting because… it stimulates both hemispheres of the brain
You probably already know that our brains have two distinct hemispheres, the right and the left. We certainly don’t want to give you a lesson in anatomy, nor in neurology: it’s enough to remind you that the left hemisphere is the one dedicated to logic and rationality, while the right one, on the contrary, is occupied by processes that have to do with emotions and creativity.
Painting – and art in general – has the great benefit of putting into communication these two hemispheres, which are usually distinct and involved in different activities. The moment of painting therefore becomes an opportunity to follow your deepest thoughts! Here’s another reason why you should pick up your paints and brushes and start painting again!
You should start painting because… it helps your self-esteem
There are those who have perhaps too much of it, and there are those who, especially at specific times, don’t seem to have even a drop.
We’re talking about self-esteem, which is very often put to the test by the work and school environment – and not only.
Painting, in this sense, can be seen as a recharging activity, since, attempt after attempt, the progress will be such that you will believe in yourself more.
You should start painting because… it helps you discover yourself
We paint a still life, a landscape, the face of a passerby. In all cases, while brushstroke after brushstroke we will understand something more about our subject, we will discover something new about ourselves. In fact, painting helps us to stop, to detach ourselves from the outside world, to free our minds and dedicate ourselves to us.
You should start painting because… it drives away anxiety
So many things worry us on a daily basis. Work, university, family and so many other elements of our lives trigger automatic mechanisms that, as a main result, lead us to stress and anxiety.
To get rid of these unpleasant feelings we can try meditation or – and we are leaning towards this second option – drawing and painting. By the way, the very act of painting is not so different from that of meditating: you concentrate completely on a single gesture, limiting your attention to the canvas, with your hands that, after a while, seem to move independently between the palette and the painting.
You should start painting because… it improves motor skills
When you think of motor skills and methods to improve them, you can only think of the gym and sports. But that’s certainly not all: to improve hand movements and coordination can also help art, whether with a musical instrument or a pencil or drawing. The manual dexterity of regular painters is much more developed than that of those who never draw or paint!
You should start painting because… it improves communication
Even the simplest of drawings and doodles – if you know how to interpret them – expresses emotions, feelings and states of being. And when it comes to painting, the choice of one color over another can say a lot about a state of mind.
Therefore, it is possible to look at the works of art as a means of communication, which in some ways are more effective than traditional ones. Therefore, drawing and painting can help shy people to express their emotions, bypassing obstacles.
You should start painting because… it stimulates creativity
We saved it for last, because this reason may seem a bit trite. But we included it anyway, because it is also among the most important.
Drawing and painting are activities that stimulate our creativity – they do it when we’re kids and continue to do it into adulthood.
Do you think you’ve lost any creative juices? I’m sure, in fact certain, that you haven’t. Maybe your creativity has just gone dormant and you need to wake it up with the right exercises.
Start by familiarizing yourself with oil paints, watercolors, pencils and brushes: you’ll soon change your mind and you’ll be amazed at the results you can achieve!