Art and Wellbeing — How Creativity Can Help

Rising’s featured artist, Cai Burton, shares the link between art, mental health and general wellbeing.

I’ve always enjoyed art. As a child, I’d be doodling and making things for fun. It’s that creativity and curiosity that have led me to where I am today – living and working as an artist. But I think there’s something that I learnt as a child that’s more valuable than that. I learnt that to relax, have fun, and express myself, I could use pens, paper, colours and even more unconventional materials at times. I would frequently make castles out of yoghurt pots, creatures out of scribbles and use my fingers as paint brushes.

It’s easy to forget these things as you grow older. Looking after your mental health and emotional wellbeing is such a vital part of being a healthy human being, and so often in place of that we struggle and toil with the stresses and pressures of modern life. It’s easy to keep working, to keep scrolling and to keep up these bad habits that all take their toll on you.

Spending time drawing as a child was so innocent – I wasn’t at all thinking about how it was helping my mental health back then – but in hindsight, I can see how it did.

These days, it’s less yoghurt pots, scribble creatures and finger painting and more spreadsheets and meetings. But I’m still lucky that I can call myself an illustrator. Whilst my artwork is more conventional than the impressionist colour splatters I’d create in my early school years, I am still really thankful that I can do what I can do.

Spending time creating artwork gives me the space to focus on being mindful. Taking that time to create something using your hands means you can spend time concentrating and distracting yourself from the stresses of modern life. They say it can reduce anxiety, and – personally – I can see why that’s the case.

But more than that – through my artwork – I get to make people happy.

You see, I believe that art really does have a positive effect on you. Looking at things that look good makes us feel good. Art makes you feel better. Fact.

Art really is a positive thing to have in your life, and I want to encourage more people to take advantage of that. In a practical way – that means I’m creating useful products that incorperate artistic features. But it’s bigger than that too.

So many people tell me “oh, I can’t draw” or “I’m useless at art” and I want to challenge that. Art isn’t about being the best – it’s about creating a response. When it can have such a great impact on your life, I want to challenge the idea that people can be “bad at art” and encourage every single person to give it a go.

Picking up a pen to start drawing might not come naturally to you at first, but all I ask is that you give it a go. Art can have a huge impact on your mental health, and it’s worth giving it a go.