Sometimes you may find it hard to express your thoughts and emotions. Understanding how you feel, however, is essential, as it helps you with introspection and allows you to manage stress better. If you’re unable to put it into words or if you’re unable to even identify what you’re feeling, you may want to consider turning to art to express yourself.
Art is such an effective method for helping people channel their thoughts that it’s often used in therapy to help people who are struggling with communication or with their emotions. Art therapy is essentially something any person can do on their own, but if the activity is done in a therapy session, it’s often facilitated by a professional and held in a therapeutic environment. It has helped patients achieve a certain level of self-discovery, improve their self-esteem, and release their emotions in a productive and healthy manner.
If you’re having a difficult time articulating your thoughts or emotions, don’t bottle them up or suppress them. Instead, consider making art that can convey what you’re thinking.
Here are four mediums you can use to channel your thoughts through art.
1. Painting
Even if this is your first time picking up a paintbrush, painting is a great way to channel your thoughts through art. You can choose among the three common types of paint: acrylic, watercolor, and oil. Acrylic and watercolor are both simple mediums for painting, so they’re the better choice if you’re a beginner. But if you have some experience with paint, you can try your hand at oil painting, though it’s considerably more complicated than the first two.
Painting is a good way for you to express yourself, particularly if you don’t want to bother with structure or coherence at the moment. You can paint a portrait, an object, or scenery if you like, but you can also just let your hand move across the canvas freely and paint abstract art. In this way, you can rely on the colors and brush strokes to convey your thoughts.
If you end up liking the finished product, especially if it was inspired by a positive thought or memory, you may want to consider turning it into posters or displaying it as is in your home. Not only will you feel pride knowing that it’s your creation, but you can be reminded of whatever inspired it whenever you see it.
2. Digital Art
Digital art is a fairly recent medium, and the term was only coined in the 1980s when computer engineers made the first paint program. The medium has come a long way since then. Nowadays, you can create digital art using any one of various art software available online and a computer or a tablet.
Because of its versatility and the different technologies available, digital art isn’t limited to illustrations. You can also make digital paintings, collages, and 2D/3D computer graphics. Numerous examples can be found online, on sites such as Fine Art America and others. With all these options, you may find the right avenue for channeling your thoughts through digital art.
3. Photography
Some people may not prefer to work with their hands, which is fine. You can still make art through photography.
If you’ve seen the work of photojournalists and the photos that accompany news articles about major incidents that have occurred, then you must already be aware of how one photo is capable of conveying a story or an emotion. This may be an effective way for you to channel your thoughts.
Don’t make the mistake of assuming that it’s as simple as pointing your camera at something and clicking a button. While it generally involves that, there are a number of things you can do to better express yourself. Using different perspectives, angles, lighting, and composition can heavily affect the way your photos turn out. You can even use special lenses or effects such as double exposure.
4. Mixed Media
If you don’t want to limit yourself to one medium, you could use multiple ones and combine them into a single artwork. That’s what mixed media is.
In mixed media, you can combine different mediums, such as painting and digital art, into one piece. This allows you to be more creative and to express yourself in ways that a single medium might not allow.
Conclusion
Art doesn’t always have to be made to be shown or sold; sometimes it’s a good enough reason to want to use art to express yourself and sort out your thoughts and emotions. Even if you feel that you’re not good at art, you may want to consider trying one of the methods given above. Not only will it allow you to express your emotions, but it could also help you understand yourself better.
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