Art still surprises me, after all this time.

I’ve been making art for 25 years and have been an art therapist for 15, and yet art still surprises me.

One day recently, I was having a tough day. It was a day off so I was able to visit a local beach and eat my lunch with a sea view. The sea lapped peacefully as I breathed in the salt air.

But when I went home, I still didn’t feel quite right. I flopped into a chair, and I didn’t really feel like doing anything. Eventually, I decided to pick up my sketchbook and carry on with my personal art project. I had few expectations. In fact, I was probably expecting this would be another lost activity, so I just moved my pencil over the page and drew from my imagination and memories, my preferred way of drawing.

I became gently absorbed in my work, filling more than one double spread in my small sketchbook. It was only when I stopped and checked in with myself that I realised I felt very different to when I started. A weight had been lifted, and the air I was breathing felt clearer.

When we have things inside us that need to be expressed, they can fog up our connection with the world. The sea is so soothing and uplifting, but I could not enjoy it or let the seaweed-tinted air reach me through my barrier.

What I love about art is that you don’t have to know what it is that is blocking you. If you sit down, let go of assumptions and judgement, what you need to express will unfold on the page. It’s not always this easy, I have trodden a creative path for many years and I am used to opening that door. But sometimes, no matter what your art experience is, art can be pure magic.