adrift

Anxiety. Something that comes in waves but feels ever present. How can I begin to soothe it? A question that at times, I feel too suffocated and weighed down by emotions to even begin to answer. That is until I start painting. Brush in hand I have the power to give these feelings a physical form allowing myself the time and space to process without the pressure of finding an immediate answer. 

This series was profoundly influenced by the book Blue Mind by Wallace J Nichols. In Blue Mind, Nichols dives into the psychology and neuroscience behind the emotional and physical healing power of water. I grew up on the ocean and it wasn't until I moved away and read this book that I realized how big of an impact the Pacific had on my emotional stability. Seeing as I no longer have immediate access to the ocean, I decided to create my own abstract seascape that I could plunge to when life feels too overwhelming.