Every person has their own way of coping with life and the stressors that it brings. There are so many events that people encounter on a day to day basis that may cause emotional, physical, or even mental stress. These events sometimes need to come with a back up plan that allows relaxation in one form or another that de-stresses one’s life for a short time. Some may like to go on adventures with friends or family, others might enjoy a nice movie night alone or with a loved one, and some may not even need such activities because they really enjoy what they do for a living.

There are many things that I enjoy doing that allow me to relax. These may include working out at the gym, having a nice glass of wine (because I am legally able to drink) while watching a movie, and hanging out with friends. I specifically hang out with friends because we do different things together. Something that I have done recently with friends that helped me relax was painting together. After a long day (and week) of work, two of my close friends and I decided to have a night where we watched a cake making television show on Netflix and created some paintings.

When I was pulling out all of my extra paints and canvases I remembered how much extra materials I have since the last time I painted not too long ago. My two friends also brought some of their materials as well since they are also artistic.

Once we got all of our materials ready and the Netflix show playing, we started painting. My one friend painted a simple cartoon character on a small canvas and my other friends painted a few daisies. Both show the different styles between my two friends which is interesting to me because I love to see each personality and artistic style show through their artworks.

For me, I wanted to create something different from the last time I painted. By accomplishing this goal, I started with a cool color palette and added circles. I chose to create something pretty simple with just the circles. I added just enough so they wouldn’t bombard the painting with too many while also not being too little of an amount either. It may be a simple painting but the process of it while enjoying time with friends helped decompress all of the stress that life had been giving me. If this sounds like something you or someone you know would enjoy, I highly recommend.