Finding confidence on canvas

Having watched Bob Ross’s painting lessons on TV for years, Maxine Utsunomiya finally decided to take a lesson herself.

Now, after signing up for Art in the Garden — a painting workshop at Victoria Hospital for patients in the mental health services program — she’s one of 15 people whose work is being featured in an exhibit at Studio Central in Portage Place.

The annual art program, now in its fifth year, is held at the hospital’s Will and Mavis Tishinski Tranquility Trail.

“It’s very relaxing, it’s very stimulating and I really enjoyed this,” said Utsunomiya, 69.

She said she’d never painted before the workshop, and going from watching The Joy of Painting on TV to doing it herself has been a lot of fun.

Utsunomiya said she overheard Studio Central’s program manager talking about Art in the Garden and asked to get involved. A week later, on June 12, she was in the workshop.

Each year the art lesson is facilitated by someone who has been through the program themselves. They walk the class through a painting of their choice that is fairly accessible to budding artists.

This year’s facilitator was L.J. Anderson, who helped participants create a blue and orange painting of mountains reflected in a lake at sunset.

“He always kept on saying there’s no mistakes,” said Utsunomiya. “If you make a mistake, it’s not really a mistake, because it’s just the way the brush hits the canvas.”

She said she was surprised at how well the painting turned out and plans to continue making art in the future.

“It helps me ease my mind,” she said. “It’s motivating, too. It helps you think of other things instead of just whatever’s bothering you.”

Art can be used as another outlet alongside supports like medication and therapy, said James Dixon, the community arts program director at Artbeat Studio, an organization that focuses on treating mental health through art and runs various classes at Studio Central.

“Someone may be feeling stressed out, someone may be feeling agitated, and art is a way to funnel all those feelings and all those emotions onto a canvas, and afterwards people feel a sense of relief,” he said.

Every year, the paintings have a nature theme and are displayed a week after the workshop for people to see.

“It really is just such a confidence booster for folks. It’s so wonderful for people to see their art on display in a gallery space,” said Dixon.

He said the program also serves as a full-circle moment for the facilitators, who can support people through art after going through therapy themselves.

Art in the Garden was created by Tracy Stople in collaboration with the Victoria Hospital Foundation to honour Stople’s mother Jean, who lived with schizophrenia and found comfort in art.

This year’s paintings will be in display until Friday, before being given back to the artists to keep.

tiago.resko@freepress.mb.ca