Common Types of Therapeutic Art

The process of creating visual art is a very restorative one to our souls. Creating art has been proven to lower blood pressure, reduce anxiety, use the right and left brain actively together and relieve many mental disorder symptoms. There is no doubt that we were intended to use our creative faculty to keep ourselves in balance. There are certain visual art forms that are particularly well known for their therapeutic qualities.

Perhaps the most therapeutic medium for creating visual art is through painting, or using any other art tool that controls the use of the color spectrum. Paints, pastels, colored pencils and even crayons allow the artist to create whatever one-dimensional image they desire with whatever combination of colors they choose. This allows for a wide scope of expression. Materials for this type of project are easy to obtain and the creative possibilities are unending. Particularly having the ability to use a range of colors, which are strongly tied to emotion, is beneficial to mental health.

Drawing is very good for those who like to focus on the construction of the image itself rather than its tones. Drawing is a favorite of those who have exacting brains that seek to perfectly emulate an image. It is also good for artists who are imaginative and conceptual because it allows them to express their ideas visually.

Coloring may sound very elementary to a mature artist, but psychologists have found that coloring is practically a guaranteed way of connecting with your inner child. Coloring is a very basic therapeutic activity, which can transform the artist into a Zen state through its simplicity. Coloring is something that almost all children are given access to in our culture, and engaging in it has the ability to make you think with youthful parts of your mind and help you revisit phases of your life that have past.

And lastly, the simple act of creating a collage can be an incredibly useful tool of expression. Particularly for people who do not feel confident using art utensils to create lines and shading, collage is an excellent way of connecting your visual faculties with your psychologically reflective abilities.