Why watercolour painting is good for your health

This month’s blog post is a little different to my others.

As a professional artist in my career field, I wanted to talk a little about the health benefits I feel that watercolour painting provides, which is something I’ve been noticing now more than ever especially with members taking my loose watercolour classes and enjoying the fulfilment these classes are bringing to their lives.

On reflection, I can see how in my career as an artist and designer this has been very beneficial to my mental health as it combines mental well-being and a sense of achievement all in one. I’d really like this for you too, and with the health benefits I’ve listed below why not come and give my loose watercolour classes a try!

So let’s take a closer look at the benefits that loose watercolour painting can provide:

Watercolour painting offers various health benefits, including stress relief, improved memory and focus, enhanced creativity and and emotional well-being. The action of painting itself promotes a sense of calmness along with mindfulness providing immediate relaxation to the body and mind.

1. Stress relief: Watercolour painting can be a relaxing activity that helps to reduce stress and anxiety. I find the focused attention to painting can relax your mind and allow you to think with clarity in the process.

2. Mindfulness: The act of being in the moment can promote a sense of calm and peace. By being focused on what is straight in front of you can help you to forget daily worries and help you to find a moment of tranquility. I find having a watercolour always on the go helps me to sit down at various times throughout the day and allows me to do this. This is also the perfect way to make painting a part of your daily life. It doesn’t have to be everyday, even small regular painting sessions have the potential to improve your mental well-being.

3. Emotional well-being: Watercolour painting encourages positivity and offers personal emotional expression. When you immerse yourself in the process of painting, you enter a state of flow where you become completely immersed in what you are doing. In my own experience, watercolour painting has helped me to gain insights to my own feelings and experiences leading to greater self awareness of who I am. It’s amazing what watercolour can do for you!

4. Creativity and Imagination: Watercolour painting encourages creativity and imagination allowing you to express yourself visually. Choosing subjects which inspire you too, ( I LOVE to paint nature subjects!) allows you to enjoy the watercolour process even more so, further increasing the health benefits above too. Its important to experiment with watercolour techniques and materials and also to embrace ‘happy accidents’ as part of the fun process. I find allowing myself to not copy from photos and take inspiration from my imagination of things I’ve seen or how I would like to see them also sparks extra imagination. I suppose this is why my watercolours work commercially as they are an impressionistic result of what I see from within (imagination). I encourage this a lot in my loose watercolour classes.

5. Boosted confidence: Creating your very own unique watercolour painting can give you a real sense of accomplishment and helps to boost your confidence. As you progress in your watercolour journey you become more and more confident in your artistic abilities. Achieving unexpected beautiful results boosts self esteem and provides a sense of accomplishment. When I have created a piece of art which is accepted in the commercial industry I work in (buyers and suppliers), this certainly gives me a real confidence boost wanting me to paint more!

Other benefits to watercolour painting:

1. Enhanced memory: The act of learning and practicing loose watercolour techniques can help to develop memory function, particularly for visual information. The act of painting stimulates various brain areas, including those responsible for memory and concentration, and can help you to recall visual details more effectively. I find the more often I create my watercolours the better I am at achieving the results I want.

2. Learning and development: The process of watercolour painting allows you to develop your creative skill set and helps you to improve how you learn when you do these skills regularly.

3. Improves focus: Watercolour painting requires a level of concentration which is a great way to develop your focus skills in general. As you are working on a painting, you are paying attention to details, colour, form and composition which helps improve your concentration.

In conclusion watercolour painting is an excellent hobby or career (like me) to have as it improves mental health and well-being. Don’t get me wrong, managing and running an art business is stressful at times, but I would say this is the closest job to being perfect to provide all of the amazing benefits above!

Join my creative watercolour classes today!

If you’d like to feel the benefits of loose watercolour painting too, and would like painting to be part of your everyday life, why not take a look at the classes I have on offer? I provide inspiration and support, with the opportunity to learn with others.

You can take a look at the classes here.

If you have a mental health painting story to tell, I would love to hear it. Please leave me a comment below, I always love hearing your thoughts.

With love, Jennifer Rose xx