Inspiration:

Try setting yourself free! Be who and what you are. Not what others expect or want you to be. Perhaps you have lost sight of your true character. Let a trip back to childhood through colours and paper remind you.

DAUBING PUTS COLOUR BACK INTO YOUR LIFE

By Teresa O’Driscoll

Do you remember the childhood joy of splashing bright colours all over a piece of white paper? Of putting whatever colour you wanted, wherever you wanted it, in whatever shape you wanted it - and loving every minute! “Free expression” is what it would have been labelled but at that time we neither knew nor cared about labels - we were just having fun. In this case nostalgia alone is out of place. It is within your power to turn back the clock and recapture that freedom. Painting is a cheap and cheerful way to lift the spirits.

"Not everyone needs or wants to become a painter but it is important to express what is inside of us and this is a good way to do it," commented artist Elisabeth Mamas, who has also studied communications science. Painting is an accepted way to relax the mind and bring about a more positive attitude to life. Hospitals, for example, often encourage patients to paint as part of the healing process. "Painting can have a therapeutic effect,” Mamas agreed. “The action of applying paint to paper can be calming.” She teaches art to adults and to children at her home atelier in Athens. "In my lessons there is always music playing, often classical, and this, together with the painting itself, engenders a soothing atmosphere," she shared.

The materials needed to begin are minimal, inexpensive and readily available. "I favour water-colours as a medium," Mamas volunteers. "This technique, using the combination of the elements water and colour, encourages the creative powers." Recently, at my local supermarket I bought water-colours, brushes, and a block of paper for a very low price. These were enough to begin daubing. 

If you need any further encouragement to bring painting back into your life make a visit to the Museum of Greek Children's Art in Plaka. In itself the tranquil atmosphere and wealth of colour in the paintings on display are sure to please you. Then, the refreshingly bold approaches will hopefully stimulate you to go back home and fill up a blank piece of paper with visions from your own imagination. And take heart from Picasso who once said, "I've spent eighty years of my life trying to paint as a child."

Once you have begun to paint don't be surprised if it raises your general awareness level. "Painting helps people to see things in a different way, to observe carefully and to see what is going on around them," Mamas predicted. Sooner or later, you may even get inspired to go out and about and paint the celebrated glorious blue sky of Greece or any other of the wonders of nature that are here. Keep in mind though that the object of the exercise is FUN and this is only achieved through a relaxed approach.