Feeling happier is one of a long list of good reasons to paint.

Sometimes those of us who feel a creative urge have a tendency to question the benefits of painting. We wonder if it is an indulgent waste of time, but I want to assure you that painting is a great hobby for very many reasons, and none of these depend on artistic skill.

In fact I have come to realise that painting can make you happier even if you don’t get as far as actually doing the painting part.

No really, let me explain.

Recently, one of my Instagram followers asked me to paint flowers and yellow things because they made her feel happy - how could I resist?

While I was painting happy yellow flowers I realised that this simple process, while it may bring joy to a viewer, had already increased my own happiness before I even set brush to paper.

The first part of my painting process - for whatever I decide to paint - is to spend some time with my intended painting subject. So I opened my collection of sunflower photos and took my time really looking at the blooms and thinking about how i would like to paint them.

This is such an important part of the painting process. You hear that talked about a lot - painting for process. But I am not sure it is ever really explained convincingly enough. Left in these vague terms, it always seems to be such an esoteric mystical thing that leaves you feeling like you might be doing it wrong. I think it is far simpler than it sounds.

To me, painting for process is painting because it makes you feel better.

Now that’s a good reason to paint.

What I realised today is that this benefit of feeling better begins way before you even take out your paint. There is delight in the investigation of the subject itself - just plain old observation. I mean really, how can you not feel happier after spending just a few minutes immersed in images like this?

Try it and see for yourself.

If a subject intrigues you enough to consider painting it, it is probably something that already brings you joy. In my book, things that bring you joy are definitely the ones to focus on.

Which brings me back to painting. One of the first steps in the painting process is to figure out what you like enough to paint. This deceptively simple question is surprisingly helpful.

Here’s why.

We swim in a sea of data that our brains have to process. We can’t possibly take in all the stimulation that our environment throws at us. The way we are designed to handle all that is that our brains filter the information based on what is important to us.

That filter is our focus.

You have experienced this for yourself before I’m sure. You simply notice more of the thing you are currently focused upon. Like when you are thinking of cutting your hair and all of a sudden you seem to be surrounded by people with cute shorter hair styles.

I’m sure you’ve heard it said before, you get more of what you focus on. What better thing can you possibly focus on than that which makes you happy?

Painting is a way to hone your focussing skills.

Like I mentioned, I think you can achieve this benefit without even doing the painting (although much more joy is to be had if you do!) Just the process of beginning a painting by choosing a subject and then figuring out how you would go about painting it is enough. And jolly good painting practice either way.

Go about your day with a painter’s eye and see how you feel when the evening comes.

Just how do you see with a painter’s eye I hear you ask?

I’d love to tell you…

All you need to do is to be scanning your everyday environment and repeatedly asking yourself

What appeals to me?

What do I like?

What do I find meaningful, joyful, or beautiful?

And then once you pick something, let’s say sunflowers, then you begin to ask yourself

How would I like to paint this thing that brings me joy?

Because now we are getting a bit more specific about we like. We can revel in the tinier details of the simple every day things that make us happy.

There are plenty of slightly annoying personal development and leadership types who spend a good deal of time extolling the virtues of starting with why. It pains me to be agreeing with them, but I must.

The reason I find the directive ‘start with why’ to be slightly annoying is that It seems to carry this weighty expectation of some lofty, existential answer. But my philosophy in all things is that the simplest answer is the best answer. So with no grand and world changing answers necessary, let’s turn to the question of

What do I like about sunflowers?

The answers I give here are simply my personal response to this question. Each of us will respond to something different. That’s the point - to figure out just what it is that you find joyful. Once you have identified your joy triggers, you will automatically find yourself noticing more and more delightful things. You can’t help it. It’s just way we are wired.

So for me, these are the things I love about sunflowers.

• I like the abundant layers of petals - there is something just a little unruly about them, not like a neat structured lily or tulip.  (Of course, I like those too, but there is an exuberance to the generous jumble of petals in a sunflower)

• I like the bold bright splash of yellow especially against the blue of a sky

• I like the contrast of the dark centre of each flower against its petals

• I like that they remind me of little faces - such personality. In fact the first sunflower I ever painted had a face (admittedly it was a time at which I seemed to have to put faces on everything… it’s a story for another day!)

So now, I know what I want to celebrate in my painting. 

Whether or not I actually paint doesn’t matter. I am happier for really looking at many, many sunflowers. I am happier for calling out exactly what it is about them that I enjoy. Actually painting them is just the icing on the cake.

Here’s how I would go about using my sunflower joy triggers to guide my painting

• Since I love the splash of happy colour and the contrast, I will make sure I include some blues and purples. I know these colours complement the yellow so wonderfully. And I will make the most of the opportunity for contrast with a sumptuous dark colour in that seeded centre too.

• I will remember to show each little face at a different  angle because I think that is what portrays the idea of  each little bloom having its own personality.

• I will try to keep the exuberance of those petals in my heart but I won’t be trying to paint each one. For me, those two things are opposites. That’s just me of course, there are other painters who like nothing better than creating a perfect careful hyper realistic rendition of the flower. That’s really the point, isn’t it?

Painting is an exercise in exploring the good things in life from our individual perspectives.

To delight in the things that lift your spirits and, if you do get around to painting them, to share your view of the world with those that care to see it.

A joy that is shared is a joy that is doubled.

By the way ,if you want to paint a whole field of sunflowers under a glorious sunny sky with me, you will want to take a look at this.

Are you on your own painting journey?

One of these might be useful…

Keep on reading…