How to Turn Emotion into Art

When the World Follows

I created this piece when I was confused and hurting. It’s a piece that just came through suddenly and honestly.

Sometimes an emotion is difficult to explain with words. Creativity and art can become a different kind of language, one we find easier to access and use in place of words.

You don't have to be an artist to turn emotion into creativity. You don't need to know how to draw, paint, write poetry, or create something "beautiful." You simply need to be willing to notice what you are feeling and give it somewhere to go.

Creativity can give shape to something that exists inside of you.

Start With the Emotion

Before you pick up a pencil or paintbrush, pause for a moment.

Ask yourself:

What am I feeling right now?

Try to name the emotion without judging it.

Or maybe you can’t name it or understand but you sense that you need to express it. That’s what happened with me when I created “When the World Follows.” I just got in front of my canvas and started with an initial layer of stream of consciousness writing that I knew only I would ever know was there, now buried under layers of mediums.

You don't have to choose just one emotion. Emotions often overlap.

You might feel happy and nervous at the same time. You might feel sad but hopeful. You might feel angry because something mattered deeply to you.

There is no right or wrong emotion to express.

Let the Emotion Become a Color

Color can be a powerful way to explore feelings.

If your emotion were a color, what would it be?

I usually paint with vibrant bold colors, but “When the World Follows” came out dark. In certain lighting different colors emerge.

Maybe your anger is bright red. Your calm feels soft blue. Your happiness is yellow. Your sadness is deep purple.

But don't worry about what colors are "supposed" to represent an emotion.

Your colors belong to you.

Choose colors based on what you feel rather than what you think you should choose.

Try putting several colors on a page without creating a recognizable picture. Layer them. Mix them. Scribble them. Let one color cover another.

Notice what happens.

Sometimes the colors reveal something you didn't know you were feeling.

Turn Emotion Into Movement

Emotion doesn't always feel still.

Anger can feel explosive. Sadness can feel heavy. Excitement can feel energetic. Anxiety can feel restless. Peace can feel slow and spacious.

Let your hand follow the movement of the emotion.

Make fast marks if you feel energized. Press harder if you feel tension. Make light, delicate marks if you feel peaceful. Use sweeping movements if your emotion feels expansive.Create small repetitive marks if your thoughts feel busy.

Your hand doesn't have to know what it is creating.

Let it move.

Create Without Trying to Make a Picture

One of the easiest ways to turn emotion into art is to remove the expectation that you have to create something recognizable.

Try emotional mark-making.

Take a blank piece of paper and give yourself five minutes.

Don't draw a house.

Don't draw a flower.

Don't draw anything in particular.

Instead, make marks that express how you feel.

Lines.

Dots.

Circles.

Scratches.

Loops.

Swirls.

Layers.

Shapes.

Words.

Patterns.

Let the page become a visual record of your emotional experience.

When you're finished, step back and look at it.

You might be surprised by what you see.

Use Words Inside Your Art

Art and writing don't have to be separate.

Try combining the two.

I often begin a creativity exercise by writing my stream of consciousness. I know with the layers that I’ll later add, no one will ever read what I write. It’s liberating while safe.

Write a word that describes your emotion and incorporate it into your artwork.

Write the word repeatedly.

Write it tiny.

Write it huge.

Cross it out.

Hide it underneath layers of color.

Write a sentence around the edges of the page.

Or write something you wish you could say but haven't been able to say.

Your artwork can become a conversation between your inner world and the outside world.

Turn Emotion Into Shapes or a Symbol

Sometimes an emotion can be easier to express through shapes or symbols.

Ask yourself:

If this feeling were a shape or an object, what would it look like?

Soft like a circle. Sharp like a triangle.

Maybe sadness is an empty chair.

Maybe hope is a small growing plant.

Maybe anger is a series of jagged lines.

Maybe loneliness is a single window glowing in the dark.

Maybe freedom is an open door.

Maybe love is two circles overlapping.

Move your hand in the motion of a shape and see if that feels write. Draw it. Sense an object and sketch it.

Then explore your shapes and symbols.

What does it mean to you?

What is happening around it?

What would happen if you changed its size, color, or surroundings?

A simple shape or symbol can become the beginning of an entire piece of art.

Try an Emotional Landscape

Imagine your emotion is a landscape. In my book, “Creative Self-Expression,” I help readers develop this idea.

What would your emotional landscape look like?

Is it a stormy ocean?

A quiet forest?

A desert?

A mountain?

A field of flowers?

A city at night?

A winding path?

A completely imaginary place?

Create that landscape without worrying about artistic skill.

Ask yourself:

Where am I in this landscape?

What is around me?

What is the weather like?

Is there a way forward?

What would I like to change?

This exercise can help you see an emotion as an experience you are moving through rather than something that completely defines you.

Make Room for Contradictory Feelings

One of the most interesting things about emotion is that we rarely feel just one thing.

You can miss someone and still be angry with them.

You can be excited about a new beginning and scared of what comes next.

You can love someone and need space from them.

You can feel grateful and exhausted.

Your art doesn't have to choose one emotion.

Let contradictions exist on the same page. I often find the stronger the contradiction the better it is found at the focal point where sharp contrast draws the eye in.

Use two colors that don't normally go together.

Divide the page into different emotional spaces.

Layer opposing words.

Create a piece that contains both softness and intensity.

Sometimes the most honest artwork comes from allowing conflicting feelings to exist together.

Don't Judge What You Create

This may be the hardest part.

You create something from a genuine emotion, and then your inner critic walks in and says:

"That's not very good."

"What is that supposed to be?"

"This doesn't look like real art."

Try answering:

It doesn't have to be good.

It just has to be honest.

The purpose of emotional art isn't always to create something worthy of a gallery wall.

Sometimes the purpose is simply to express.

Sometimes it's to understand.

Sometimes it's to release.

Sometimes it's to notice something you couldn't put into words.

And sometimes you create something unexpectedly beautiful along the way.

An Emotional Art Exercise

Try this simple 10-minute Emotion-to-Art Exercise.

Step 1: Name it

Write down one emotion you are experiencing.

Step 2: Choose a color

Pick the first color that feels connected to that emotion.

Step 3: Choose a movement

Ask yourself how the emotion moves.

Fast? Slow? Heavy? Light? Chaotic? Gentle?

Let your hand make that movement on the page.

Step 4: Add a shape

Give the emotion a shape.

Step 5: Add a symbol

Draw one object or symbol that represents the feeling.

Step 6: Add words

Write a few words, phrases, or sentences that come to mind.

Step 7: Step back

Look at your artwork from a distance.

Ask yourself:

What is this artwork trying to tell me?

Don't force an answer.

Simply notice.

Your Art Doesn't Have to Explain You

There is something freeing about creating without needing to explain everything.

Your artwork can hold a feeling without defining it.

It can contain questions without providing answers.

It can show something you are still trying to understand.

You don't have to know exactly what your artwork means before you create it.

Sometimes meaning arrives afterward.

Creativity Gives Emotion Somewhere to Go

I am still confused and hurting despite having created “When the World Follows” over a year ago, but the process helped me feel a little less sad. And now that painting is a reminder that I’m stronger than the pain. I came through on the other side of it and I’m still standing.

We experience emotions internally, but creativity allows us to move them outward.

A feeling can become a color. A thought can become a line. A memory can become a photograph. A question can become a poem. A difficult experience can become a story. A moment of joy can become a painting. A feeling that once seemed impossible to describe can become something you can see, touch, write, draw, or create.

You don't have to be an artist to express yourself through art.

You simply have to give yourself permission to begin.

Pick up a pencil.

Choose a color.

Make a mark.

Let the emotion lead.

And see what emerges.