Age-net evaluates why painting is a great hobby to take up in your later years
Finding the right hobby for you can lead to a lifetime full of enjoyment, even as the years pass. Not only will a hobby leave you feeling fulfilled, but it also has multiple health benefits. For example, it will push you to continue to work with your hands, which is incredibly important as we grow older. It also helps to strengthen your brain and improve your coordination. When it comes to discovering a hobby, it is less about what you think you are good at, but what you have always wanted to do. Now that you have more time on your hands, you can finally devote the time and attention that you deserve towards an activity that you have always wanted to pursue.
A hobby that has only grown in popularity for older individuals is painting. It is also a hobby that comes highly recommended from professionals. If you are wondering why painting is a hobby that so many people of all ages take up, here are some of the many reasons why.
1. Communication
All types of art are a form of communication. It is simply in a different language. It can be hard for anyone to use words to communicate with the people they care about, not to mention strangers. Shyness can become a huge barrier for some, while other people have conditions that prevent them from communicating effectively with others through speech. However, art allows you to communicate better in a personal manner. You can try to express what you might not be able to adequately show in words, and share your story and message with those around you.
2. Therapy
Everyone needs to let their minds rest every once in a while. However, relaxing your mind can be difficult with the constant noise of your thoughts. Instead, when you enter the world of art and creation through painting, you are stepping into an area that only you can enter. As your mind focuses on creative production, mentally you will be getting the rest that you deserve without the constant noise of the outside world.
People who take up painting find themselves feeling less stressed and much more relaxed. Your negative feelings are transformed into something nice instead. By getting rid of feelings of turmoil, you clear up more space in your mind for happiness to enter instead.
Although the therapeutic benefits of paining are great for everyone, it is especially beneficial for people with aggressive or nervous tendencies.
In addition, because painting helps to isolate you as you concentrate on only the art, you will be able to distract yourself and move away from pain. Instead of focusing on the less than ideal aspects of your life, you will only feel the positive. For those of you that are constantly bothered by annoying and uncomfortable aches, painting will help keep your mind off of discomfort.
Instead, you will be entering a relaxing mindset, where you can feel comfortable within your skin.
3. Emotional Intelligence
As you continue to paint, you will discover that you will develop better skills to help you identify your inner emotions and feelings. In addition, not only will you understand what you are feeling, but by expressing yourself through painting and art, you will be able to find a balance within yourself. Negative feelings will cease to bother you, and your emotional intelligence will only increase as you continue your hobby.
4. Self-Esteem
If you are able to paint in a non-competitive as well as relaxing environment, you will be able to experience personal improvements. Not only will your self-esteem grow, you will find yourself becoming a strong individual that does not have to constantly depend on others. If you want to feel better about yourself and take steps to becoming stronger independently, painting will do wonders for you.
5. Mobility
Motor skills need to be constantly practised and used in order to maintain mobility. Not only do painting movements push you to develop higher motor skills, but you will find your fingers gradually gaining strength. As you paint, your brain will also be training, and soon you will find that you will have better command over your own movements.
6. Brain Activity
Not only does painting help you physically, but it helps you stimulate your brain as well. Drawing and painting forces both your left and right brain hemispheres to work. Your left hemisphere is known for dealing with the rational, while the right hemisphere tends to be where creativity and emotions reside. By engaging in art, working both sides of the brain can be enormously helpful to keep your mind active and strengthen your memory retention. It will also help you to fight against becoming a victim of Alzheimer’s disease by constantly exercising your brain.
7. Art and Culture Appreciation
Many artists have stated that you can never truly appreciate art unless you are an artist yourself. By practising art, you will understand it much better. In addition, painting will prompt you to talk about art as time progresses, which will further your appreciation for art. Remember that art is meant to communicate. By painting and appreciating the work of others, you are opening yourself to a new form of communication that you were previously unable to take part of.
Not only will you see your own personality reflected within your own work, but you will be able to identify with the work of others. Sometimes, the act of identifying is exactly what you need to understand concepts that are still foreign to you. By developing deeper understandings of the work of others, you can glean new knowledge from the experience of others, even without knowing the artists personally.
In addition to understanding art, you will obtain more cultural knowledge. While you learn to paint, you will start gaining insight into human history through previous artworks. You will also better understand the social ties and relationships of the modern time and day.
Although painting can be a very different experience for each individual person because of its nature, it will help you open doors that you did not know existed in the past. Slowly you will grow as a mentally as well as emotionally as you create meaningful art.
If you are looking to start up painting as a hobby, look around to find a local painting instructor that will help you pursue your interests. Make sure that you find someone who is patient with a relaxing demeanour. Remember that you are painting for your own personal development and enjoyment, and it should not be an activity that is stressing you out.
Getting started with painting
Watch this video for some useful tips on how to create your first acrylic landscape painting.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=UazC-VIV-vg%3Ffeature%3Doembed
