There are many myths about artists. Some people think we are supposed to be moody or drunken and drugged-up-wild or miserably tormented by inner demons who clutch at our souls and won’t let go until we die. While it is true many artists absorb what goes on in the world (and often this is painful) and then reflect it in their art, it does not mean today’s artist can’t learn to absorb the pain and then positively channel it into healthy and healing art.
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2020 Systems Failure Art Collection For Sale (Part 2)
art, art advisory, art collector, art consultant, art curator, art for interior design, art gallery, artist, contemporary art, contemporary art for sale, new art collection, political art, statement art, Systems Failure ArtCommentThere’s a health and healing story to this unique collection of 15 paintings created in 2020. Here’s Part 2 of my blog. Four paintings reflecting on the theme of Systems Failures had been completed, but those loud, crazy, annoying noises inside my head had still not gone away. Like someone who had failed at a project or task, I felt no closure or emotional release. I decided to loosen up, shut out all controls, and just let the abstract art take over and come flying out. It flew out in hard, messy lines…colors that didn’t quite match…streaks and drizzles and dabs and dots, and completing The Triangular Door showed me my original revelation of SYSTEMS FAILING was deep and complex, but there was no hope of a simple doorway fix.
2020 Systems Failure Art Collection For Sale (Part 1)
art, art advisory, art collector, art consultant, art curator, art for interior design, art gallery, artist, contemporary art, fine art for sale, contemporary art for sale, new art collection, statement art, political art, Systems Failure ArtCommentWhy I Call My Paintings "Evidence-based" Restorative/Healing Art!
art, art advisory, art collector, art consultant, art curator, art for healthcare, art for interior design, art gallery, art heals, art therapy, artist, contemporary art, Evidence-based art, Evidence-based healing, fine art painting, happy art, healing art, hospital art, landscape art, modern art, floral art1 CommentI’d like to talk today about “evidence-based” restorative/healing art. Lately, I’ve noticed more and more people (a few art pros, too) who are claiming many paintings are “healing” works of art, but after looking at the pieces (sometimes with daggers and dripping blood and twisted heads or totally “abstract” images), I’ve started to wonder if they’ve actually read (which I do) the “medical outcomes” research and if they really understand the depth of the psychological and emotional wounding that almost always occurs when patients and their families are dealing with major illnesses.
Before I even began calling my paintings “evidence-based,” I first did extensive research on what the exact requirements and qualifications were in this category of art. Research from “actual studies done” in Norway, England, the US, and other countries, shows there’s a general patient preference for landscapes (regional, generic, or seasonal); waterscapes (regional, generic, or seasonal); florals (garden or bouquet styles); still-life (but used sparingly for variety); and a “whole host” of other detailed requirements.
Some of these “whole host of details” to consider before claiming a work of art is “evidence-based” also includes things like waterscapes to be calm or non-turbulent; landscapes to have visual depth, open foreground, trees with broad canopy, verdant vegetation, and positive cultural artifacts; flowers to look healthy and fresh, familiar in shape; and the background knowledge to do this kind of painting goes on and on and on. To say a work of art is “evidence-based” first requires knowing and meeting the requirements of the “evidence-based” studies.
The other thing I consider when painting is the depth of the psychological and emotional wounding that almost always occurs when patients and their families are dealing with major illnesses. Sitting in a hospital or home recovery room with full of force and impact “abstract” art on the wall or having to have to look at—especially just after having your body “penetrated” by a medical procedure—the powerful and penetrating colors of black and red (and to make it worse images shaped like daggers or pours like dripping blood) is the total opposite of what’s needed for health, healing and happiness.
I don’t have all the “evidence-based” art answers, but I do try to know many of them, and I know people (many of them cancer survivors) tell me—all the time—how the paintings I create for this market make them feel happy, healthy, and full of hope!
(For some of the information in this blog, I would like to give credit to NOAH Resources and The Center For Health Design.)
A Garden of Hope And Happiness by dorotheasandra.com (Acceptable as evidence-based art.)
Hopeful Happiness by dorotheasandra.com (Acceptable as evidence-based art.)
Hope by dorotheasandra.com (Acceptable as evidence-based art.)
Are you suffering from "Prisoner of the Wired World" syndrome?
art, art for healthcare, art consultant, art advisory, art collector, art curator, art for interior design, art gallery, fine art for sale, modern art for sale, landscape art for sale, hospital art, artistCommentAre you suffering from “Prisoner of the Wired World” syndrome?
If so, you might also have a bad case of eco-anxiety, eco-grief, eco-trauma, or even eco-despair. How in the world do people end up there? Simply put—many humans (and species) have lost their connection to Nature, and this “disconnect” from Nature has the potential to cause huge trauma and distress.
I now live in a town pretty much bordered by state forests and state parks and the 5th largest freshwater lake in the world (Lake Huron). Whenever I need a break from my “super-wired online business/fine art/graphic design world” I just take a drive or go outside and walk around my lakeside town.
Yet, for so many millions of people on our planet, easy access to an abundance of Nature just isn’t part of their reality. Is there any hope out there for the eco-deprived and wired-to-the-world weary? From someone who has lived in Boston, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Toronto, and Tokyo, the answer is “Yes!”
According to numerous studies, viewing psychologically appropriate ART benefits human health. In fact, viewing “evidence-based” restorative/healing art can even “significantly affect medical outcomes such as blood pressure, anxiety, intake of pain medication, and length of hospital stay.”
Here’s an example. When I was younger, I created art for “my” self-expression. It was dark and dramatic and met “my” needs.
Layers Of Death (not for sale) by Dorothea Sandra
An Abstract Mind (not for sale) by Dorothea Sandra
Swamp Ghosts (not for sale) by Dorothea Sandra
Today, I create art for the health, healing and happiness of others. I “deliberately and strategically” use beautiful colors and flowers and landscapes to help “reconnect” my viewers to Nature. Connecting to Nature, even in the form of art, has been shown (by one study after another) to help us. Also, as you can see from the photos below, restorative/healing art doesn’t have to be boring. It can have movement and POP and dramatic beauty.
The Creative Thinker’s Garden by dorotheasandra.com
Flowers Going Ziggy by dorotheasandra.com
Great Lakes Flowers Singing by dorotheasandra.com