How Art Helped Paul Through Life’s Challenges

Art has always been a passion for Paul, but life and work started to get in the way. However, when lockdown began to turn daily routines upside down and with the encouragement from his wife, Paul rediscovered his love for art. Picking up his art supplies again and creating a few pieces each day gave him comfort in uncertain times.

Taking the next steps to improve his skills, he enrolled onto our art courses. Paul describes his art class as one of the highlights of his week. “It’s so therapeutic. The group is friendly and supportive, and my tutor is brilliant. It’s a nice mid-week way to relax, zone out, and chat with other learners.”

Paul’s other passion is music, which he often uses to inspire his art pieces. In our learner exhibition, called ‘We Present: Leicester Adult Education’, Paul submitted a portrait piece of Mark Bolan. Here's Paul's piece:

Although he loves combining his passions, Paul finds the courses encouraging to try new things.  “The great thing about these courses is being able to try such a range of things. You can keep going back to things you do enjoy, but you have the guidance to try new things and get out your comfort zone too.”

By becoming an art learner, Paul has not only improved his art skills, but he’s also really grateful to have made friends for life and improved his confidence. Now, when times get hard, Paul turns to art as a way to escape for a short while.

Paul used to work at a local hospice. He told us, “You saw some good things but also some really sad things. But by coming to the college and doing my art course, it made me not think about work and took my mind off of the things I did see.”

Paul has also dealt with personal grief, after the passing of his sister. Although Paul expressed that he has a fantastic support system at home, he explained how impactful his friendships made in the art classes have been too. On the day of his sister’s passing, he told us that he met up with his classmates.

“We took our paints to the park and chatted through things. I’m so grateful for the extra support. Having art, and the friends for life that I’ve made from the art classes, to help me navigate things is such a useful combination.”

Art has played a big part in supporting Paul’s wellbeing and helping him build meaningful connections with others. While working at the hospice, he often stayed after his shift to paint with one of the patients and also helped to run a painting group.

“Art is so wonderful for connecting people, but also helping individuals’ wellbeing with the many different situations we may face in life.”

Paul wishes continue developing his art skills and use it to help more people in the future.  We are so thankful that Paul has opened up about his journey and is willing to share the power that art and adult learning communities can have. His passion and determination have inspired us all.  We wish him all the best for the future and can’t wait to see what else he creates.

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