When I paint, peace washes over me; my heart rate drops; and a keen sense of focus replaces the ordinary tumult of the day. It’s this feeling that I seek to replicate in using visual art to ameliorate psychological illness.

 

Inspired by the color theories of Van Gogh and Goethe, I’ve tested different color schemes on viewers and revised my work as a result. The outcome of these trials can be seen in my multichromatic landscape pieces, at once a reflection of the beauty of the external world and the multifarious internal world of those who suffer from mental illness. My use of expressive colors and cerulean themes has a calming effect as well; but more than that, my work seeks to dramatize internal conflicts so that they may be worked through in an encounter with art. (I am referring here to Eternity, which you can find in my website’s last section.)

 

Moreover, my works Teary Rose, The Skull Which Smiles, and I Am Strong and I Really Want To Love This World employ symbolism and storytelling to manifest the struggles of mental illness. Though many patients feel hopeless as they fight against internal erosion – highlighted by the dark hues laid down by my brush – there are always, of course, reasons to hope. I seek to show this to patients through highlights and bright warm pigments that stand stark against the blackness, suggesting that the possibility of recovery always exists.

 

Art, as I see it, has a dual nature. On the one hand, it’s an object of external beauty, something to be admired. On the other, it’s a mirror, something that helps us humans see ourselves better. (Or perhaps, as John Ashbery said, a “convex mirror.”) My goal is to make work that, through its beauty, helps those suffering see themselves in a new light.