Van Gogh & Me
My first Van Gogh: a 35-year-old print from my college days, but only because it reminded me of the Yorkshire Dales where I spent time with family as a child, the purchase had nothing to do with who the artist was.I'm creative and inquisitive. I'm a mum, love cats, rabbits, wildlife - most animals really - wildflowers, the countryside, the sea and "find beauty everywhere" in nature. I'm also a geek and spent many years working for myself creating websites, which turns out was 'my' way of achieving creative flow.
My kids would to talk about 'aesthetic' this and that and I'd roll my eyes as I thought it was a social media-driven thing to achieve a certain fashionable look or costly decorated bedroom involving copious amounts of fairy lights and fake plants, plus it was too fancy a word for their age anyway...but then I realised I was doing the very thing they were talking about, surrounding myself with pleasing colours, trinkets, artwork, cosy blankets, cushions, clothes I never wear...so I had to apologise and admit that I finally 'got it'.
I'm also the Founder of a nonprofit established 8 years ago to promote wellbeing through creativity, particularly for people in underserved communities and those facing mental health challenges. Through this time I've learned a lot about creative health and how focussing on what we really enjoy, providing you know or can discover what that is, can go a long way to making us feel content and happier.
Although I'm only just realising the importance of 'aesthetics' on wellbeing, I chose to go to the University of York to study Psychology, but I chose to go there because of it's beautiful campus, the pleasant long bus ride through the countryside from Leeds and of course it is in the fabulous historic city of York. I'm so thankful that I studied for a Batchelor of Science (BSc) rather than a BA though, because it resulted in a lifelong curiosity about the body, brain and behaviour, but most importantly it taught me to appreciate seeking evidence to back everything up.
These days, my interests lie in:
- Positive Psychology: especially discovering and using our personal Character Strengths alongside Mindfulness.
- Creative Health & Wellbeing: including Art Therapy, Art 'as' Therapy, Expressive Arts, Art Journaling and Mandala-Making, all from personal experience
- Social Prescribing: non-clinical health interventions e.g. 'Arts on Prescription' to improve mental health and wellbeing.
- Neuroaesthetics: an emerging field also known as Neuroarts, which combines all of the above and perfectly explains how and why I ended up writing about Van Gogh.
Through a personal journey of discovery, fitting the pieces together, and purposeful indulgence in Vincent Van Gogh's colours and paintings, I've come to experience firsthand how art and immersive creativity can support positive mental health and wellbeing.
A Lifelong Journey of Discovery & Eventual Indulgence
The song 'Vincent' captivated me as a kid but I didn't know it was about Van Gogh - American Pie album, Don McleanI think it started with a song...
I've often thought about just why van Gogh's paintings, the most colourful ones that is, have such a powerful affect on me.
I wouldn't describe myself as an 'artsy' person, I don't visit galleries or know a great deal about highbrow arty-farty stuff. I like other artwork, yes but no other artist or style of artwork, colourful or not, has the same impact on me.
I get a real kick out of zooming in on Van Gogh's paintings to see all the brushstrokes up close, the canvas showing through from behind, the way the thick paint colours sit side by side, or blend together, as he's applied them.
These days, I indulge my love of colours and paintings, but it has only been the last few years that I've done this... I'm pretty sure it all started when I was a young teenager, with the song 'Vincent' which was on an album, released the year I was born, that my mum recommended I listen to.
Over the years I picked up prints, noticed how certain paintings made me feel and used similar colours and strokes in my own art therapy sessions, without realising these sources of joy and inspiration were all coming from the same person.
Once I did put all the pieces together, and began reading about Van Gogh's life, it just all fell into place and I purposefully brought his artwork and colours into my life so that everywhere I looked I had continual moments of visceral joy, which did wonders for my wellbeing!
The Van Gogh Christmas
Like many of us, I was a Starry Night girl with not much feeling for anything else.
I became a Wheatfields girl after I treated myself to a 'learn to paint like Van Gogh' class one Saturday, and then one Christmas I became an Almond Blossom convert, after I was given a 3-piece canvas bursting with beautiful 'Van Gogh turquoise'. This large painting went on my newly-painted bedroom wall (in 'Van Gogh Yellow', naturally). What a hit, every morning waking up to the burst of golden yellow, no matter the weather outside, and a hit of turquoise blue. Bliss. The blossom then got painted over with glow-in-the-dark paint, so I could enjoy them at night, which I'll upload when I can get a decent photo!
The point is, having started as a Starry Night girl, part of the thrill with Van Gogh's paintings is there are just so many: you keep discovering ones you've not seen before, or they haven't resonated with you until now. Then you find all kinds of things to look at and enjoy that you never noticed before, and this thrill of discovery could happen to you hundreds of times because there are so many paintings and drawings to uncover.
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Disclaimer
I'm an enthusiast who enjoys going down rabbit holes researching the details.
I like to illustrate events and letters using AI, bringing to life what we can only imagine.
Themed artwork and merch contribute to the "microdoses of aesthetics" that bring me joy.