2018/19 X Art Journey

My journey started in 2018 with watercolour and a normal pen, I found watercolours to be really expressive of my emotions which is exactly what I needed, an outlet for all the craziness going on inside and outside. As I've previously mentioned I started cognitive behavioural therapy sessions (which was a huge step towards recovery and managing my mental health correctly), I didn't have the words to begin to explain what was going on but creating art that represented it by putting pen to paper and just going for it was easier, it gave a starting point for when I had the CBT sessions. I was told there's a science behind the colour choices...They represent my emotions, I began to understand this through further intuitive art making just what art therapy really was *something i'd never heard of but was becoming LIFE CHANGING when paired with CBT sessions* 

I discovered junk journalling which was the start of using recycled materials within my art, a key feature and personal ethic if that's the correct word - I liked using recycled materials because it was saving the environment and it felt good to be eco friendly; I quickly became aware just how much "rubbish" I threw away and how quickly it builds up *newsflash MOST stuff can be used it's cardboard packaging mainly, and the stuff that can't like plastic can be recycled*, in turn I was not only saving the environment which made me feel somewhat accomplished in life but actually somehow making rubbish look pretty which also helped my mental health...a metaphor for turning a messed up life into something beautiful. 

I began to experiment with how I could use recycled materials and used them as a background to create texture, things like receipts were and still are a huge favourite of mine to use. I then painted the backgrounds using poster paint/acrylic paint choosing 3-5 colours I was initially drawn to as this was revealing my subconscious emotions, I liked to mix colours as this expressed the more complex emotions that I was feeling. I then discovered fluid art which i'll do a post about in the future but basically i didn't mix the colours correctly and painted with it anyways as an experiment which turned out SICK. Sometimes the paint reacted with the pva glue and created a crackled effect which was really cool! 

I also liked using metallic/shimmers in my work.

I experimented with marker pen and eventually was introduced to acrylic paint pens which was a game changer!!!

My work levelled up massively in 2019 due to experimenting which is key to creativity, being open to fail at trying something new. I learnt a LOT in 2019 and various style changes happened as a result of these experiments. I made art everyday as a way of managing my mental health along with CBT sessions through uni. I began Cosmic Creative Bits 11th April 2019 as a way of healing by trying to find where Luna was...the picture below is of Luna and my auntie Jean, the artwork is from 2020 and i'll talk more about 2020's work in another post.

Till next time, 

Stevie x