I know when I was considering starting to oil paint, I wondered if this was something I wanted to really start doing. Starting up a new hobby oil painting, can take a lot of time and effort, so you may be asking yourself if it is really worth that time and effort. I have found that beginning oil painting has certainly been worth all my time and effort, even later in my life.
Starting to paint, or any kind of artistic pursuit can help your overall mental health, happiness, and well-being. It will also help improve your brain functions, including helping the decline of age-related brain functions. It is great therapy and can help relieve stress. There are many benefits to starting an artistic pursuit as painting, but here are some of the ones that I see.
Table of Contents
- Painting Is Exercise For Your Brain
- Art Can Help The Decline Of Age-related Brain Functions.
- Art And Painting Is Great Therapy.
- Art And Painting Gives You A Creative Outlet
- Art Can Help You To De-stress Your Life
- Art Can Uplift Others And Put A Smile On Their Face.
- Related Questions
Painting Is Exercise For Your Brain
There are a lot of studies about how art and your brain work together, but many agree that art can help your brain. It has been said that making art, of any kind, will help you to develop your brain in ways that other activities do not. Develop your brain. Many researchers have gone so far as to say that painting or artistic endeavors is like exercise for the brain as running or swimming may be exercising for the body.
The reason they say this is because how our brain works when we are painting is entirely different than with other tasks we may perform. And this helps our overall brain functions.
There has also been found a link between painting and strengthening of our psychological resilience. It could simply be that their art gives us a new purpose. But art also helps with our overall psychological and brain functions.
Art Can Help The Decline Of Age-related Brain Functions.
There was a study in Germany, where seniors from age 62 to 70 were studied on how art affects their brain development. This study focused on retirees and divided these retirees into two groups.
One group took up painting, and the other group focused on art appreciation. They found that those who actually started painting had a significant decrease in normal age-related brain function issues,
One of the reasons they felt is that the artist’s group, when compared to the art appreciation group, did so much better was because the painting of art helped the brain with its development and functions. In particular, these new artists also had a significant decline in the normal age-related loss of brain functions when compared to the art appreciation group.
From this study, they summarized that actually painting art vs just looking at it helped the decline of age-related brain function loss. They felt one of the reasons for this is because when you actually paint art, instead of just looking at art, the brain will draw upon your stored memory in order to be able to paint the paint strokes. This helps to improve the overall brain function.
Whatever the reason, one thing for sure is that painting art, any kind when compared to just looking at art has a greater effect on our brains and the development of our brains, especially as we age.
Maybe this was one reason why the famous painter, Grandma Moses, was able to live so long and do so well with her art later in life. To read more about Grandma Moses, you can read our blog called Am I Too Old To Start Oil Painting?
Art And Painting Is Great Therapy.
Art is a great therapy. I know for me if I am ever feeling, sad or depressed, I just need o pick up my paintbrush, and as I start painting, suddenly, things start to look a lot better somehow.
Maybe it is the motion of putting the oil paints on the canvas that makes the difference, I do not know, but I know when I start to paint, life just always feels just a bit brighter.
Today art is used as all kinds of therapy. And the reason is that it works. Even studios and programs are set up to help those who may suffer from any form of mental illness to use art as part of their therapy. Here are some resources that you look at if you are interested in finding out more about art and therapy:
- American Art Therapy Association – This art association focuses on art therapy. They focus a lot on becoming an art therapist, but they also have general information on art and therapy.
- The Healing Power of Art & Artists – This website is a community of artists who believe that art can be a catalyst for positive change in the world. They look at some of the aspects of art and mental health.
- The Art Therapy Project – An organization that works with art therapy for both adults and children.
Art And Painting Gives You A Creative Outlet
Art can give us all a creative outlet. I believe everyone has some power of creativity in them, and art is an excellent way for us to use that creative outlet. It does not matter if people really like your art or even if you are skilled; what matters is that you paint.
Do not worry if people do not like your art. To find out why this does not matter, you can read our blog called Not Everyone Will Like Your Art, and Why That is OK. What is most important is that you get out there and paint. Start to paint today – you will be glad you did.
Art Can Help You To De-stress Your Life
Psychology Today magazine has a very good article called Making Art Can De-Stress You – Even If You Are Not Good At It. It has been found that any kind of art can help de-stress you when you feel really stressed out. The best part of these art-producing de-stressing benefits is that you do not have to be very good at your art to reap these rewards.
Producing art of any kind can help to de-stress your life. One of the great benefits of this is that you do not even have to be good at art to get the de-stressing benefits of it.
So, if splashing paint around a canvas feels good, go ahead and do it. It has some really great mental health benefits.
Art Can Uplift Others And Put A Smile On Their Face.
Art can change and improve the world. Art can make the world a brighter and happier place and art can help people smile. Art can affect not only you and your mood and spirit but also others.
Art can be a way to change and bring some sunshine into this world. My tagline for my art is #ArtThatMakesYouSmile. I chose this as one of the things I love most about my art is when I show someone a painting and a big smile comes on their faces. This kind of reaction just makes me really happy as I know I put a smile on their face.
#ArtThatMakesYouSmile
Art is truly a great creative outlet, and one of the best things about it is that you have so many mental and physical benefits because of your artistic pursuit.
That is why everyone should have some kind of creative outlet. Not only does it help give you brainpower and brain function, but it is also great therapy, along with a unique creative outlet. If you are feeling stressed, it can help de-stress your life. Most of all, it will put a smile on your face and the face of others.
Anita Louise Art is dedicated to art education, great artists, and inspiring others to find and create their art. We love art that uplifts and inspires. #ArtToMakeYouSmile! #ArtToMakeYouHappy!
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Related Questions
Does Art Help With Depression?
There have been many studies done on this, but many feel that art can and will help with depression,. If you are interested in learning more about how art can help depression, you can read this article on The Healing Power of Creative Therapy For Depression.
How Can I Relieve My Stress With Art?
There has been a lot of research on how art can relieve stress, but if you want to read more about this you can read this article by Very Well Mind on How to Relieve Stress With Art Therapy. As this article states, one of the things art does to help with stress is that can give you a distraction from the thing or things that are causing the stress.
Is Procreate Easier Than Photoshop? What Should An Artist Learn?
Procreate is a much easier computer program to learn than Photoshop, especially if you are new to the Adobe program. The Procreate program is a great computer program to lay out your artwork before painting on the canvas. Photoshop can also design your artwork, but as it is a more robust program than Procreate, it will take much longer to master.
You can discover more by reading Is Procreate Easier Than Photoshop? What One Should An Artist Learn? by clicking here.
Where Did Art Come From?
Many historians believe art started first in Africa; many ancient forms of art have been found worldwide. Cavemen art is some of the earliest forms of art. Many cultures put art on their bodies through tattooing and other art forms.
By clicking here, you can discover more by reading Where Did Art Come From?
