Original Art Piece

Mixed media abstract inspired by contemporary artist Piet Mondrian

Themes
mental health & chronic pain
self-care
resiliency
strength

Statement from the artist: I started this piece to overcome the intense anxiety stemming from chronic pain I was experiencing at the time. At the start of making this piece, I felt completely overtaken. I tried to sort through the thoughts and feelings by laying the intensity out on the canvas. As I was creating this piece, I even thought that I had a perfect name for it too...Overtake. As I truly felt that; the anxiety overtook me. That it took control over me and was creating for me.
By the end of this process, after adding layer after layer over several days, I was able to feel and see that I had overtaken it. Conquered it. At least for the time being.

Despina is an artist originally from Montreal, QC and for the last 10 years has been enjoying living in the beautiful Capital of Canada. She works as a mental health social worker and is passionate about helping others in their journeys to recovery. During her spare time, she loses herself in paint and uses all sorts of mediums like acrylics, watercolours and mixed media.

A bit about Despina's journey as an artist:
Despina always wanted to be an artist. She applied to study art in college but was not accepted into the programs she applied to which shook her confidence in her skills.
This lead her down a different path as she become a social worker specializing in mental health and addictions - a profession she is truly passionate about.

While working on the front line, Despina continued to make some art and tapping into her creative side. When she would paint, she mainly worked with acrylic paint. She took a watercolour workshop in 2018 which re-ignited her fire for fine arts! She started making watercolour Christmas cards that she shared with family and friends and after receiving so much positive feedback, decided to start selling them the following year. Fast forward two years later, in the summer of 2021 she was asked to commission two paintings. This is when Despina started to realize that people really loved her art and wanted it in their homes which in turn helped her believe in her skills as an artist. In June 2021, she started looking at the prospect of sharing her art with a wider audience and here we are today.

Her ultimate mission is to spread creativity, positivity and raise mental health and chronic pain awareness through her art.

ARTIST’S STATEMENT

Hi! Thank you for checking out my art and reading a little bit about my journey.

I use art as an outlet. I paint to let go, to feel, to sort through thoughts and emotions, and most of all to create. Painting brings me to another world and temporarily distracts me from chronic pain and mental health challenges.

I also draw inspiration from nature, music, social issues and other artists like Piet Mondrian, Vincent Van Gogh and Picasso to name a few.

Making art ultimately brings me a lot of joy and it re-energizes me. I am so happy to share that joy with you and I hope that my art resonates with you.