Why I have been able to slow down with painting

Life can be full — sometimes overwhelming.

As a painter, slow living advocate, and working mum of five, I know what an overwhelmed mind feels like: the endless lists and the feeling that there’s never quite enough time to pause and enjoy the present.

Painting became my way to slow down — to reclaim small moments of quiet in a busy life. Through making time for myself through art I found a calm focus that felt deeply restorative.

Creative flow, as defined by psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, is a mental state where a person is fully immersed in an activity, losing sense of time and self while performing at their peak. During creative flow, time bends—not measured by the clock, but by the depth of experience.

Flow has also been shown to reduce cortisol, lowers anxiety and depression, and helps you feel more present. I have felt it.

Myself and other artists and creatives describe flow as entering a space where ideas come effortlessly and decisions feel intuitive.

This has become an essential part of my attempts to live slower, where being present and attentive becomes a way of life

I believe that painting can be a gentle act of recuperation. It’s not about being “artistic”; it’s about showing up, and making time for yourself and your creative abilities.

Painting is also a counteraction to the distractions of the online world. The paint on papers and being absorbed in the effects the brush or sponge can make is a different mode of being to jumping between websites or scrolling. The challenge and pleasure of using those effects to create a painting that resonates with me is unique.

That’s why I created my Slow Art Tutorials — to help others step away from the noise, reconnect with a slower pace of thought and expression and find peace through the simple act of painting.