Painting has turned my world upside up
Friends, I’ve committed to writing on Substack. I’ll still share my writings here as well. Below is my first newsletter post on Substack. Hope to also see you on my Substack - Movement is Life Studio. Follow me here.
I regularly take digital breaks from Instagram and other platforms. During my last winter’s hiatus, I decided to engage in tactile activities to unfurl my scrolling fingers and mind. I experimented with hand knitting, which was nice but didn’t quite captivate me. At the suggestion of a friend, I tried paint by numbers from Etsy. I submitted a picture of my grandmother and received a lovely canvas with numbered dots depicting her image. For several days, I was immersed in meticulously following each numbered cue, with Nina Simone on my record player and tea. The experience left me feeling calm, centered, and a lingering sense of homecoming. I felt immensely proud of the finished paint by numbers, spending hours admiring how it perfectly captured my grandmother’s smile and essence.
Shortly thereafter, I found myself wandering through my local art space. One artist’s sign caught my eye—a weekly Sunday oil painting class for beginners. In January 2024, I took a leap and signed up, and since then, my world has turned upside up. Every Sunday, I eagerly attend class and create artworks I never imagined I could produce. Prior to this, my artistic endeavors were limited to sporadic abstract pieces; I was the nerdy girl in science clubs who later became a straight-laced corporate executive. Discovering my latent talent for painting has completely shifted my perspective. It made me question where else I’ve confined myself and overlooked opportunities for self-discovery.
It's so difficult to explain how staring at an image I painted, brought to life with my hands has blown my mind and my concept of self. It feels like I’m meeting a new version of myself that has been quietly beside me for 47 years. Since January, I view the world through a different lens. I observe my surroundings with heightened awareness, noting the intricacies of trees, flowers, buildings, and faces—observing shadows and colors as if preparing to paint them. I am more present in both my body and mind. Each painting or sketching session feels like meditation, bringing inner calm, self-awareness, and a sense of achievement. I find myself painting between executive coaching sessions with my clients, after a long work day I sneak in some strokes on a painting before transitioning into family time/dinner making. Turns out painting is a remedy for Zoom-induced brain fog. My screen time has decreased significantly because I find myself impatient with scrolling on social media when an idea comes to mind to paint. I feel compelled to put the phone down and go into the studio.
Through painting, I’ve uncovered a part of myself that had been quietly waiting to be embraced. I am now so curious about what else there is to discover. What else will turn my world upside up?