Art can be defined as an escape, therapy, happiness, a place to release emotions into artwork in order to help cope. Artists who use their skills to help define mental illnesses, reach out to people through their art, even to help cope with their own emotions that they battle internally. Creativity is a reality that helps, maybe not all — but it helps cope by speaking your issues/emotions into art.
Art to me is an escape from reality, escaping to a place that I can set my mind and emotions free to take control of my hand and sketch out how I'm feeling — or the creativity I build up for days on end to finally have a day to release it all onto paper or the art program I use. Being a dragon artist — it may be the only creature that I can pour my emotions into — it's one of the strongest abilities I hold dear to me.
This is why art is an escape for me.
Everyone has their own abilities on how to cope with stress, anger, sadness, etc... May it be writing, reading, drawing, sketching, running, hiking, etc.. But mine has always been drawing. There's something about being able to go into my bedroom when I'm feeling these different emotions, grabbing my tablet pen and being able to have freedom to draw out the emotions I'm feeling without feeling barricaded into drawing a specific element. The freedom of being able to create different drawings, artwork I'm able to complete knowing it helped distract my mind from issues that may surround me at that time. Being an artist has saved my own life, (I know — a bit dramatic) but having that ability/talent/skill to draw and create artwork can be the most helpful partner to a coping mechanism.
Again, I'm not speaking for all artists out there-we all use our talent to a degree for whether it may be the reason I use it for or others. Being an artist has given me confidence in myself, no-not physically, but mentally. It's given me the confidence to know I have this ability to create these mythical creatures who conquer cities and protect their loved ones, giving them back stories and personalities-something about that makes me realize: Hey, I do have something-I'm an artist in fantasy, I can create creatures-I can go somewhere with this. This helps me cope, and impresses others-how cool is that?
It gives me hope in myself, a hope that helps carry me when I feel I can't accomplish anything. Having that ability to just say, 'screw it' -roll to the back of my notebooks in high school and just draw until my hand cramped. That coping mechanism, to calm the emotions I felt by creating creatures/characters that resembled the feelings I felt at that exact moment. Sometimes I wouldn't draw that creature/character ever again after that, but that's an accomplishment for me. Why?
Because it shows me I was able to tackle that emotion, take control of it by the reigns and remind myself that I run this body-not it. This, this is exactly why art can give me confidence while helping me cope even in the worst of times. By helping me build my confidence back, the confidence I lost to my mind and emotions that told me otherwise. Art is a strength, a creative mind being its powerhouse — a strengthened power that I believe is as helpful as a therapy session-except you being the patient and the blank canvas in front of you being the therapist. The music in the background being that motivation to overcome this emotion or emotions your battling.
Art to me is a therapy, a confidence booster, and a reminder that I do have something special within me. A talent that speaks from my own mind and heart, that has helped me cope for years-by allowing that escape into my creative mind and exploit my emotions onto this blank canvas. An escape to a place that no one else has access too, a place that reminds me everything will be okay in due time.
As I'm only a fantasy/dragon artist, this has been one of the largest impacts on me as I've grown older-realizing how much art has given me that freedom to be vulnerable with my emotions. Leading me to open my creative mind and create these beautiful drawings, creatures and scenery. I'll never meet the day where I tell myself being an artist hasn't helped me, and having this beauty into a picture-perfect creative mind hasn't helped me escape from reality for a couple hours.
Being an artist has given me strength to escape, and I'll be forever grateful for this talent I possess in my hands and mind.
