Gwenn Seemel, French and American artist, who is one of my favorite artists, and also a mentor and friend, has been working on a series of paintings on mental health, called Everything’s Fine (Because Everything’s Not). While painting the series, she opened her studio online on the Twitch.tv platform. I got to watch her creative process for these paintings and also get some encouragement for my own mental health problems. Here is her introduction to the series and plans for how to make the paintings available as a boost to anyone who needs a mental health boost:

https://gwennseemel.com/blog/2023/0327-everythings-fine/

In 2022, while I struggling more than usual with depression, Gwenn and I were discussing self portraits. She asked if I’d ever had my portrait professionally painted. I’ve only had them done by kids and photographers. So she painted this from a photo I sent her, and it’s one of my treasures. I feared that displaying portraits of myself might seem vain, but what I discovered from this jewel was how uplifting it is to see myself smiling, to be represented by swirls of color and expressive lines. No matter how glum I am, when I see it, I smile at myself. If that’s vanity, then it’s delicious and healthy vanity. (Gwenn by the way paints many portraits with smiles, which I think is rare in the portrait world, and one of the reasons I love her work.)

https://gwennseemel.com/blog/2023/0206-joy/

I suggest you spend some time on her blog and website if you’re not familiar with her work.

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