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Choose to bring the Joy in your Life

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It is Your Choice to be Happy

Choosing the joy in life can come in many ways. It can come from walking your dog in the morning as the sun comes up. It can come from just sitting at a cafe and enjoying the last few moments of warmth and sunshine before the winter descends upon us.  It can come from having dinner with your partner after a tough day.  Or similarly, it can come from going to the Theatre and absorbing a moment of beautiful classical music by the symphony. Most importantly,  it can come from looking at beautiful piece of art in your home that impresses upon you the celebration of the moment.  Art reminds us of the beauty- the moments that last briefly but can imprint upon our minds indefinitely.

Art reminds us of the Joy

Many who look at my work are engaged with the celebration of the Joy.  This is due to the fact that people walk into my booth at an art fair and remark on the stories that I create as part of my work. Yet every story is about the positive. The looking toward the brightness of the day. The place you can walk into and revel in the colour, the patterns and the beauty. In the piece highlighted titled “She Walks on Pink Roses” a story is created about a cool day watching the world go by. The flowers are embedded in the figure and give the story a place of softness and comfort. A place to remind us to be in the moment and enjoy the day.

Counter the Negative

For a long time I thought that this type of work was too sentimental. That it had a shallowness that we see in our pop culture. Well I no longer feel this. In fact, I see my art as a counter point to the negative. We seem to now live in a culture full of the negative. Certainly there is an overwhelming amount of combative and the critical debate. Of course for social change to happen we need the critical.  We need the empowered and the fearless to step forward. I am the first to support these actions. Yet what are the effects on our psyche?  How do you insulate yourself from this?

Choose the Joy! I know this may sound trite. In fact, it is not. Most noteworthy, surrounding yourself, and engaging with art that is beautiful,  makes us happier. In fact, studies have found  “that looking at a work of art can actually have the same psychological effect as the euphoric experience of romantic love.” Now don’t we all want to feel that romantic high? Above all we want the sense that “joy” is part of our daily life. It may comes at less of an impact with a piece of art that you look at daily. Or it may remind you, when you least expect it, that life is  good. 

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Why buy art?

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Often people ask themselves “what is the reason to buy art for their home?”. This is a normal question as Art is not a “need”. It is a “Want”. It isn’t food, shelter, or clothing. However, it is part of self care. It is part of making certain we retain our identity and reminds ourselves of who we are.

This past month has been waves of news that can spin our world into the depths of depression. Combatting the negative that surrounds us takes extra vigilance. It takes a decision to look towards brightness and life. Yes, we grieve the loss, the damaged and the destroyed. However, the goal is to keep going. To choose happiness over depression. Everyday  I go to the studio, I have moments of questioning my purpose. I imagine many people feel this way. In the last few days I have once again affirmed that my purpose in this world is to create Art that reminds us of the goodness. The place which we can find a bit of sanity and love.

In an article  titled 10 Reasons to Buy Art in the Huffington Post, the authors list simple reasons to buy handmade original paintings. They mention that “Happy walls make happy people”. I think this is true. Placing a piece of art on your wall reminds you to think of the bigger picture, the long game. The place in our world that has no fear, no hate, and reminds you to be good and loving.

When creating art, the goal is not to be sentimental in a trite way. Rather my work is about creating a story that reflects a bigger picture. One that is about connections and comfort. The desire to celebrate life in simple ways. In the piece highlighted, titled All Their is to Know, the story delves into yearning. The desire to be part of the story, the drama and the love as captured by the romance graphics from the 1950s. These Great Romance comic books were viewed with disdain by parents of the young girls who read them, but they were a place to explore stories and identity. To live a life of drama and romantic intrigue. What better way to spend time?

 

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