Some time ago I read a very interesting article by Simona Torelli (La RagionCritica) on the art of being happy.

The author mentions the Universal College of London research (published in the British Medical Journal in December 2019) according to which engagingin the arts (visiting museums and exhibitions and going to the theatre) makes us happy and also longer-living. It even seems that the risk of early death is reduced by 31% for those who participate in cultural activities at least once a month.

So what can I say? Art helps us live better, conveying emotions and improving our mood. Not enough?

Painting is my therapy

Especially in this period when Covid-19 has transformed relationships and sociality has changed for the worse, becoming increasingly distrustful. People are more nervous, more hostile, more individualistic than before… And all this upsets me a bit.

When something impresses me I express myself by painting, it is my therapy. While I paint I lose all sense of time and place, I become one with what I am doing.

It’s a wonderful feeling, because in this state everything works perfectly for me, I feel powerful, capable, time goes by and pleasure comes with me.

What drives me to paint?

• Painting makes me curious: I want to try new techniques, meet and interact with other artists, visit museums, study the maestros. This means commitment, dedication and time, an iron will and the knowledge that doing it makes me feel good, makes me feel more at peace with myself.

• Painting makes me known and allows me to get in touch with many people with whom I can share creative moments and experiences.

• By nurturing this passion I create my own, personal world. I enter my own dimension, made up of desires, experiences and ideas.

• Painting is my way of life. It is an emotion that I feel inside and that I follow beyond the trends of the moment. To follow it, I am ready to spend my money and invest in training, challenge myself and embrace new opportunities.

The most important thing for me is that while I am doing all this I am enjoying myself! In short, painting is a powerful healing tool.

What is your passion? What are you willing to do to follow it?