BEHIND THE PAINTING 

Creative expression, movement and colour are great healers - an energetic sage - which can impact our mood in a moment and bring solace, light us up with pure joy or calm and soothe the soul within. I was drawn to abstract expressionism from an early age, marvelling at the work of Mark Rothko and his enormous colour fields that communicate directly through the power of colour. It seems to talk to me at a primal level and as a dancer, that inner expression that bursts through with movement was just summed up so beautifully in these large-scale works. 

Have your ever really thought about your life and colour? Colour can affect every cell in your body, your energy and emotions, change your mental and physical presence, impact the brain and is often used as an effective alternative therapy with healing and transformation, including post-surgery, learning difficulties and in meditation practices. 

REFLECTIONS OF LIGHT

Colour transcends language, it speaks beyond the form of words. Growing up with dyslexia I was always drawn to seeing things differently. Colour helped me read faster, focus better with sheets of translucent rose or yellow tints to lay over text, it sharpened my mind, eased and helped with communication, especially in connecting to my emotional body. 

As artists we abandon all suggestions of figuration and instead exploit the expressive power of pure colour by deploying it in large fields that envelope the viewer and artist. Art is to be experienced and colour is a key to the subconscious, a language beyond, transcendence and the infinite. Just as in yoga the sacred ‘OM’ is the vibrational sound of the soul, from the energy of life, so colour communicates to us on the primal level, the very foundations of life.

When I paint, I feel a clearing of my mind, whilst connecting to a deeper self. It comes very intuitively to me and is story-telling in the purest form. I can look back at my paintings and see the emotional state in each. The world feels so full of images, a constant stream. It’s a lot for the brain to handle, which is why I also feel very drawn to painting with pure colour, abandoning human labels and form. Whilst using my practice of yoga and meditation to calm and transpose emotive movement onto canvas.

Meditation clears and guides away from the egoic world and to connect with something out of ourselves and thoughts, abstract expressionism is a very great tool to that same energy. Absorbing the colours as the beholder of work and really taking it all in can affect not only mood but emotions. 

Take a mindful moment. 

HOW TO INCORPORATE MORE COLOUR INTO YOUR LIFE? 

Colour calms my energy, when I step in front of a canvas, I leave that human form behind and connect through meditation on a deeper level. Walking across the fields to my art studio – through nature – I begin to switch off, listening to the leaves rustle, my hairs on end with the cool breeze, I clear the noise of the world and feel connected to the earth. 

IT IS SIMILAR WITH YOGA.

When I step onto the mat – I let the colours of my artwork reflect back to me, inspire more creativity in my practice or bring energy needed. Yoga is such an opening and immersive experience, the use of colour on the mat – just gives that special energy – by using colour to transport me into the present moment, enhance my practice and my mood, making my mat time really special. 

You don’t have to cover yourself to get therapy and joy from colour... Taking a mindful break can be a great start. Enjoying an artwork on the wall, really looking at it, not just in passing. Absorbing the softness of the textures or noticing the lightness of touch, taking the work in mindfully, each tone and depth of colour, the healing of the greens or blues, uplifting of the sunshine yellows... 

Or you could use a beautiful crystal or stone, switching your focus to the elements of light or colour within the stones and seeing the beauty in each element with your breath. Small moments through the day, a one-minute break here and there, all help towards creativity a home space with colour and connecting to your mental health and emotions. Start to find the beautiful artistry and colour in everything around you.