How Art Helped Me Break Through Loneliness and Fear

On Art and Fear > When I realized that … I could voice my opinion or ideas visually when I felt silent otherwise, I decided to “use” my art with greater intent.

By Veronica Winters

In the very beginning of my career, I painted images to satisfy my need for learning. Later on I realized that I wanted to heal myself from the deep emotional pain that I felt. This process spanned over two decades of drawing and painting.

I began drawing in my early twenties by going to community college and after a few months of studying there I knew I had a very strong desire to learn how to paint realistically. Classical art education was almost non-existent 25 years ago. Pre-internet I spent years learning the craft by going to various art schools in the US. I painted every subject: landscapes, still life, random objects, birds, plaster casts, and people. One day I realized that people piqued my interest because I felt I could illustrate my stories through the human form. I wasn’t super talented drawing portraits and it took me many moons over to get the skill to finally explore the art, ideas, and human form with considerable conviction.

I began painting stories in portraits and figures as a way to process my emotions of loneliness, abandonment, fear, and joy. A lot of that art was a reflection of my search for Self and the lack of belonging. It was very difficult for me to understand who I was and what I could offer to this world. I spent years in internal search for validation or reasons to live, finding it hard to connect to anyone or anything that would provide me with meaning to do what I did. Art. I felt isolated and lonely. I had a few breaking points that changed me and my understanding of reality.

A few years back I realized that doing art was actually my real voice and superpower. I could voice my opinion or ideas visually when I felt silent otherwise. From that point on I decided to “use” my art with greater intent. I began exploring themes that I thought could help others see my work and experience some kind of self-reflection and healing.

I became more interested in exploring the universal themes of love, connection, and what we normally define as personal growth. That’s why my portraits transformed to a different view of reality where the figure serves as a tool to communicate human connection to higher consciousness and each other.

I want people to experience feelings of love and self-reflection to explore their own human potential because every person has all the power of the Universe in his or her hands. We simply don’t know it but it’s always available to us…We get stuck with our fears, unable to move forward. Any art form is reconnection to oneself.

I hope that people who look at my art are able to connect to their essence and the Universe and that in turn would create a heart-centered world. I wish to create a more loving world without judgment, violence and fear that would heal everyone who needs it now.

I paint these themes using two mediums – colored pencil drawing and oil painting. I love them both for different reasons in terms of techniques although the ideas I paint stay the same.

In my current work, I use Photoshop to “construct” my pieces from many references to illustrate ideas, concepts, and feelings. The colored pencil drawing “Omnipresent Mind” illustrates my idea of balance between the human mind and higher consciousness.

The Star of David shown in the center is often associated with the Jewish star. However, this symbol’s true meaning goes back to antiquity. While it was a protector symbol for David on his shield, the reason I put it into my drawing is to show a perfect balance of earth, air, fire and water.

Two identical male portraits represent balance between humanity and higher consciousness, as well as consciousness and existence expressed through human beings. I usually draw on colored or toned drawing paper to get the extra punch in hues. I design my pieces with color harmony in mind to convey emotions.

About the Artist
Veronica Winters, MFA, is a contemporary Russian-American portrait artist, instructor, curator, and author who explores a powerful connection that exists between humans and the Universe through her figurative oil paintings and colored pencil drawings. Symbolic and influenced by classical artistic traditions, Winters’ work serves as a tool — for herself and her viewers alike — to experience the healing potential of painting.

In color, figure, and symbols, the artist paints a relationship that exists between humanity and higher consciousness, helping people connect to themselves to feel balanced, inspired, and at peace. Winters combines her imagination, realist training, and divine guidance creating visual stories in art. She shares the amazing interconnectedness of the Universe to create a more loving world.

Winters is nationally recognized for her colored pencil drawing with the publication of the art instruction books titled The Colored Pencil Manual and How to Color Like an Artist by Dover Publications, NY. Her art and writing has been published in numerous magazines and art books, including Strokes of Genius, Leisure Painter, Colored Pencil Magazine, the Guide Artists, the American Art Collector and the International Artist Magazine. She studied art at OSU (BFA), Penn State (MFA), the Grand Central Academy of Art, and the Art Students League in New York. ­­­Veronica Winters’ art gallery and studio is located in Naples, Florida.

Website: veronicasart.com

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