Silver Linings. Painting #52. How Art Helped My Mental Health

Silver Linings is painting #52. There is something special about this one. A major life altering event occurred between my last painting, Peaceful Waters and this one. A very powerful hurricane hit the panhandle of Florida where I live. It severely damaged my house and I was displaced for nearly 5 months. You can read more about that here. The whole experience was challenging to my mental health, however painting came through to help.

The Inspiration for Silver Linings

This is a painting inspired not by Bob Ross but rather his teacher and mentor Bill Alexander. If you know anything about Bob Ross besides his amazing paintings, you know that the wet on wet technique was taught to him by Bill Alexander who also hosted a painting show on PBS in the 70s called The Magic of Oil Painting. After I finished watching every single episode of The Joy of Painting, on YouTube, I found some Bill Alexander videos. Now the collection isn’t as extensive but there are some out there and they are great. Here is my favorite one. Wildflowers

For this one I followed along with Bill’s Rocky Shore video.

Materials

Colors

• Alizarin Crimson
• Dark Sienna
• Phthalo Green
• Prussian Blue
• Sap Green
• Titanium Hwite
• Van Dyke Brown
• Don’t forget the Liquid Hwite!

Equipment

• 2 Inch Brush
• 1 Inch Brush
• #6 Fan Brush
• Large Palette Knife
• Script Liner Brush
• Small Palette Knife

Painting and Mental Health

I just have to say. It felt soooooooooooooooo good to put paint to canvas again. It had been about 3 months between paintings. Now I’ve gone that long or even longer without painting before but for some reason I had been really wanting to paint but couldn’t because of being displaced. When I did this one, I was at the house waiting for an inspector and take care of some business. It just so happens that the inspector actually bought a couple of my paintings!

I’m not sure what it was. I don’t know if it was the fact that I was at home painting again that felt good. It just seemed like something was lifted off my chest. Maybe that’s the joy of painting. Maybe that’s the feeling that art can give an artist, or anyone. They say painting is relaxing. I’ve never felt more relaxed from painting than I did that day. And through the whole healing and recovery process from this life altering event, painting has been amazing for my mental health. If you have stress in your life, give painting a try. You don’t have to be amazing at it. Give it a go and see how it feels. You may even surprise yourself.

Final Thoughts

Nothing was really complicated with Silver Linings. It’s rather simple overall. The color is one of my favorite things about this painting. I love how the light comes out from the center. The clouds were a joy to make as well. Watch a couple of Bill’s videos and try his clouds. I think you’ll enjoy them. If you want a simple painting or seascape to try, this is the one.

This painting ended up as a gift to a family member. If you want to see more of my work or see what’s for sale, check out my Etsy shop  to see other paintings available.

I hope you enjoy this painting. Give it a shot yourself then share a link to a photo of your rendition. Have a question? Comment below. Follow me on all my social media sites to stay up to date on everything and see current works. 

 Happy Painting!