Managing Stress Through Art

The Arts Council features student artists each week.

“As a student participating in the (I)GCSE Fine Arts course, I have been able to use a variety of skills that my teacher has taught me including; understanding tone and portraying it correctly; taking my time to get the best quality work I can produce; and working with colours that aren’t already mixed in the pots but mixing them myself. I used these lessons in my artwork, a still life painting where I was told to focus on tone – which is why we did it in one colour, I used different shades of blue. As I was painting this piece, I wasn’t very confident at first because in the past I was not very good at identifying accurate tones, but towards the end of the small project I started to become more confident in my painting and I discovered that I enjoyed painting with bold strokes; it made me think less about the painting being perfect.”

“I also have another painting that I had been working on before Christmas, I had taken it from a photo I took form when I was walking in Norway. It is still a work in progress, but I feel proud of myself for what I have achieved so far. The fact that I took the photo myself really helped me connect with my art and it produced a far better quality piece. Art is important to me because I can express myself through it in a creative way that others may not understand but helps me to be able to comprehend my emotions. Moreover, especially during the start of my (I)GCSEs, it helps me to forget about the stress of the recent realism of life and the pressure of my (I)GCSEs and future courses.”

Natalie James, 10L