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A Painting a Day Keeps the Therapist Away

I wake up, turn off my alarm, check my phone, brush my teeth, change, check my phone,

eat my breakfast, and go to school. This is my routine most mornings like many other kids my

age, people could say that we do not have self control especially when our phones are blowing up

in our hands. Everything is at our fingertips and it is hard to not use it whenever we have free

time. In today's technology saturated life many people turn to their devices when it comes to

recreation: Instagram, Twitter, Hulu, Netflix, Youtube. With so many different sources for

entertainment, people do not usually tend to turn to what might be considered outdated forms of

entertainment such as reading or painting. Since the release of the iPhone people have been more

inclined to partake in different types of recreation since they have the whole internet at their

fingertips. Anything is possible, from funny cat videos on Youtube to full college courses, all are

available at the click of a button. Every day my dad mentions how often I am on my phone and

everyday I shake it off until recently did I notice that I hardly did anything off a computer or cell

phone. This made me think that there was some sort of correlation between all of our technology

use and the spike in these mental diseases among adolescents. From these questions I came up

with the idea for my project and, my question of: How will painting once a day affect ones

depression, ADHD, anxiety, sleep patterns stress and grades?

Born October 25 1881 Pablo Picasso was born in the small town of Malaga, Spain: not

known at the time, this little boy would grow up to be one of the most influential artists of the

21st (Biography) century helping start the cubism movement among many others. Pablo Picasso,

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as with many artists, went through periods: The Blue Period, Rose Period, African- influenced

Period, Cubism, Crystal Period and lastly his Neoclassical and surrealism period during the end of

his life. The Blue Period is the most relevant to the topic of this paper since it is implied that

Pablo Picasso was struggling with depression and decided to express it at this point. As the name

suggests the Blue Period resembles a time in Picasso's life where people have assumed that

Picasso felt depressed, from the color palettes that he used to the expressions on the faces of the

people he painted. This period is best described by The Art Institute of Chicago: The works of

this period are characterized by their blue palette, somber subject matter, and destitute characters.

His paintings feature begging mothers and fathers with small children and haggard old men and

women with arms outstretched or huddled in despair(AIC). One of his most famous paintings

from this period would have to be the The Old Guitarist which was painted in 1903. This painting

depicts a hunched over pale old man dressed in rags playing a guitar almost oblivious to his own

state of poverty. The grand majority of this painting is painted with soft hues of blues and

definitely gives off a solemn feeling. Even though the painting itself is quite simple you can tell

by the expression on the man's face that he has been through a lot and he definitely has some

regrets. One can also tell from the long brush strokes used to paint these paintings. A great point

of view on this period comes from Art Student at NYU Vicky Nyder: the word anguish is an

understatement for the true purpose of his blue art The real reason was his depression caused by

the death of his close friend and roommate Carlos Casagemas in 1901(Nyder 2). The Blue

Period lasted three long years and in every painting that has been collected from that era has

similar motifs of despair and depression can be found. Almost every painting has the same empty

stare their eyes crying out for help The Blue Period lasted from 1901-1904 throughout those three

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years one can assume that painting helped Picasso cope with his emotions. Just the way paintings

provided a therapeutic tool for, Picasso it can also be used for teenagers, adults and even veterans.

Another well known artist that struggled in his lifetime was Vincent Van Gogh. Van Gogh

was born March 30 1853 and died on July 29 1890 after he shot himself in the chest Vincent Van

Gogh is well known for being the crazy artist that cut his ear off for a woman and for his painting

Starry Night, but past all that there lies the complicated inner windings of a confused, ill genius.

Throughout his life Vincent Van Gogh was admitted in and out of mental health hospitals because

of his depression, anxiety and possible bipolar disease. While Van Gogh was admitted to these

mental institutions he wrote to his brother, in the letters that he wrote he expressed his emotions

and how he felt. In one of the letters that he sent there is one quote where he speaks about his

depression and how art his creative outlet has helped him with his issues:

This is my ambition, which is founded less on anger than on love, founded more on
serenity than on passion. It is true that I am often in the greatest misery, but still there is
within me a calm, pure harmony and music. In the poorest huts, in the dirtiest corner, I see
drawings and pictures. And with irresistible force my mind is drawn towards these things.
Believe me that sometimes I laugh heartily because people suspect me of all kinds of
malignity and absurdity, of which not a hair of my head is guilty I, who am really no
one but a friend of nature, of study, of work, and especially of people. (Popova)
Van Gogh describes how he is able to cope with depression by finding the beauty in art and life,

in the deepest darkest corners even when he was starving, art helped him live his life. Two

paintings, that when, compared can show signs of bipolar disorder are the 12 Sunflowers he drew

in 1889 and Old Man in Sorrow which he drew in 1890. The contrast between these two paintings

is outstanding the Sunflower is this happy warm painting with very bright undertones. The

painting itself gives one a sense of warmth but throughout the painting it is possible to see that not

all the sunflowers are alive and well for some are wilting and dying. This vase of sunflowers can

represent Van Gogh and the wilting flowers can represent his mental illness slowly taking over

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his body, his transition from positive and happy to a manic depressed state. The painting that can

be compared to this which can be viewed as the opposite of the Sunflowers would have to be Old

Man in Sorrow. A good summary of the painting is: Displaying mental distress with insane

feelings of the sorrow, the picture describes an old man crying over for unknown reasons. He is

stressed out and looks unable to bear any more stress as he is trying to hide from the tensed world

by concealing his eyes behind his fists (Nitin). Alongside this, the old man is dressed in blue and

is supporting himself with his elbows, implying that he is too weak to deal with the pressures of

his life. Even though Van Gogh did not live a long life a lot can be learned from his paintings and

how he expressed himself, his paintings represent a window into his soul where one can tell how

he felt.

As stated earlier, Van Gogh said that he distracted himself from his mental issues and bad

things happening around him by getting into art and forgetting about his problems which is

similar to what my psychiatrist Dr. Alvarez told me when we spoke about the project: Well in

my opinion any hobby can be therapeutic you know? Like anything that you love to do can help

you and in a way help you deal with your problems. When he told me this I noticed that there

was an issue with the project that I was going to do which was that I turned a hobby of mine into

a chore. I am forcing myself every day to paint which takes the fun out of it, I am forcing myself

to paint things that really have no meaning. Once I noticed that I decided to visit the MOMA in

San Francisco where I spent almost a whole day walking around and looking at paintings. The

MOMA contains more modern pieces than traditional art which makes it harder to interpret since

there are so many underlying themes and meanings behind the art. The building itself is an art

piece, standing out from all the other buildings next to it. Inside the white structure smells like a

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library and the faint smell of wet paint, the sound of art students and families alike fills the six

story building. Even though everyone is keeping their voice down the museum is still relatively

loud because of the acoustics of the building. The white walls contrast with the colorful

bathrooms distributed throughout the floors, changing colors on each floor. My favorite piece in

the museum would have to be Live Ammo by Roy Lichtenstein, the main reason that this piece

stood out the most would have to be because I remember seeing it when I was a kid and I

remember the expression of the soldier in the painting. For the most part it is a very simple

painting, it was painted in 1962 which was in the midst of the Vietnam War. The MOMA is a

very big museum with many different types of art, personally I did not enjoy all of it since there

were some very weird unfinished projects that were so complex that they made zero sense. For

the most part I enjoyed myself it is just that it gets hard for me to just walk around and stare at art

for more than one to two hours. What did make it more interesting was a guide that worked there

named Mark who I walked around with for a while and spoke to and told me what he thought

about my project: Personally I do think that technology has enhanced our ability to enjoy certain

hobbies there are more possibilities and we are able to find out new activities that otherwise we

wouldn't have known about. As for the ADHD and depression I cant answer that since Ive never

experienced either of those issues. This is an interesting view since I believe that technology has

intervened with people having creative hobbies and instead of going out and experimenting with

different activities they are just watching videos online or browsing social media.

I have lived my life with ADHD and I have never been treated for it, friends I have had

have all told me how much they have hated taking their medicine and also my parents never really

wanted me to be dependant on any pills. In my life, ADHD has gotten in the way of my education

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it gets really hard for me to sit down and do work concentrate and study. All this distraction from

work has led to my stress levels rising throughout my educational career as I was assigned harder,

longer assignments. All the stress and pressure caused by these assignments did not help my

depression at all; it only made it worse. This is not a call for help or me asking for pity it is me

describing what I have dealt with, all of these issues have had an outstanding impact on my life

and have made my educational career really harder than it should be. I have tried many different

treatments that have not involved medication such as exercise and meditation, but I have not tried

to find a new hobby such as painting to use a therapeutic source. As stated by Cathy A Malchiodi

the author of The Art Therapy Sourcebook: Art expression, is not a magic bullet for lifes

problems, it cannot miraculously alleviate depression The purpose of this art form is to

communicate feelings, thoughts and ideas Once they are on paper, it is possible to respond to

them (Malchiodi 120). The purpose of this study is not to miraculously cure a mental disease it is

to have one express themself, once they have expressed themself is when a conversation can

begin; this is when one can start talking about their problem and slowly find a way to cope with

their issues. This is not a new idea as the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs has been using art

as therapy for years to treat veterans for PTSD and cognitive issues among other things.

According to the American Art Therapy Association booklet art therapy has been relatively

successful:

Art therapists provide effective treatment and health maintenance intervention for
Veterans, focusing on all of their life challenges, such as mental, physical, and cognitive
impairments. Intense emotion and memory, often difficult to convey in words, often are
more easily expressed in images with the guidance of a trained clinician Given the
number of Veterans gradually returning from the current war in Iraq, art therapy has the
potential to assist them as a form of rehabilitation (Graham 1).

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This vaguely states what was said earlier in the essay about how painting is not the remedy itself,

it is what happens after painting what matters, the conversation that starts.

One of the biggest aspects of painting is how a certain image can communicate an image

or an idea. As time has progressed art has evolved into many different mediums, one that is

becoming more and more prevalent everyday is graphic design; specifically on clothing. As

clothing brands such as Supreme, Bape, Off-White and many other popular brands have gained

popularity so have their trademark designs. Off-White is known for their simple designs and

recently has had a collaboration with an artist that goes by the name of Warren Lottas, Lottas is

known for making what would be considered edgy art depicting skeletons with violent under

tones. According to Lottas: Painting helped me get through hard times like when my parents

separated, it makes me feel comfortable and allows me to think clearly... My art style represents

all the angry thoughts I had when I was a kid. Lottas describes how painting and drawing

worked as a positive outlet for him when he was going through a hard time. Later in the interview

Lottas said: I feel that it all depends on the person and what they are doing, if you were to start

painting because someone told you it would help you it wouldnt work. It would only work if you

liked doing it. Resembling what Dr. Alvarez said earlier, which is that any hobby that one enjoys

can be used therapeutically. If one wants to treat themselves they do do not have to paint they just

have to find their hobby and do it until it solves their problem. Like most students I went into this

project with very little hope of me actually enjoying it, but I actually enjoyed doing it and learned

a lot about my favorite artists and a lot about mental health and how to deal with them. I did not

expect to take such an interest in the artists personal lives, especially Van Gogh, but he does have

a very tragic interesting life he was in limbo between genius and madman. Another unexpected

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thing that I encountered was that I got to learn more about my psychiatrist because when we talk

it is usually about me and not him. This project was relatively hard because I had to move around

my schedule to dedicate time to my project, but in the end it was worth it. Overall it was a great

experience but I do not think that I would do it again, I believe that if this project was not as big

and was not as demanding that seniors would enjoy it more than dread it.

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Works Cited

Electronic

Art Institvte Chicago. Pablo Picasso and the Blue Period. Art Institvte Chicago N/D

aaaaaaahttp://www.artic.edu/collections/conservation/revealing-picasso-conservation-project/paba

aaaaaaalo-picasso-and-blue-period Accessed 18 March 2017

Biography.com Editors. Pablo Picasso Biography.com A&E Television Networks 10 Dec 2015

aaaaaahttp://www.biography.com/people/pablo-picasso-9440021. 18 March 2017

Nitin. Sorrowing Old Man (At Eternitys Gate) by Vincent Van Gogh. Art Painting Artist 18

aaaaaaaApr 2014 wwwartpaintingartist.org/sorrowing-old-man-by-vincent-van-gogh/. Accessed

aaaaaaa18 March 2017

Nyder, Vicky. An Artist Frenzy. 2009 Microsoft Word File. Accessed 15 March, 2017.

Popova Maria Van Gogh and Mental Illness. Brain Pickings 2012

aaaaaaawwwbrainpickings.org/2014/06/05/van-gogh-and-mental-illness/. Accessed 19 March

aaaaaaa2017

Pablo Picasso Paintings, Quotes and Biography. Pablo Picassos Blue Period. PabloPicasso.

aaaaaaahttp://wwwpablopicasso.org/blue-periodjsp. Accessed 19 March, 2017

Primary

Alvarez Scott Personal Interview. 16 March, 2017.

Lottas Warren Personal Interview. 26 March, 2017.

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Print

Nyder, Vicky. An Artist Frenzy. 2009 Microsoft Word File. Accessed 15 March, 2017.

Works Cited Continued

American Art Therapy Association. Use of Art Therapy in the Treatment of Veterans. August

aaaaaaa2009. Accessed 15 March, 2017.

Malchiodi, Cathy. The Art Therapy Sourcebook. McGraw Hill, August 9, 2006

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