Healing with Nature and Art — Julia Crossland Art

“Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.” ~ Albert Einstein

Those of you who are familiar with my work will know that nature and wildlife have long been an inspiration for me, but the last three years have seen me immerse myself more and more into her gentle cycles as a way to restore and relax. At the start of 2022, as we finally started to pick ourselves up and look forward to moving on with our lives, we were suddenly facing the news of a war and economic decline. And then we learned my Mum had cancer.

The nine months that followed were akin to being on a roller coaster. The highs and lows were nauseating at times and we clung to any thread of hope we could find, willing her to pull through. In the end, the doctors couldn’t save her and Mum died on the 21st October last year.

My Mum’s name was Linda, and she was larger than life, the glue that held everything together. Grief, I’ve learnt, hits you like a tsunami, unexpectedly and out of the blue. It sweeps your legs from under you and knocks the breath from your body. I still cant believe that she is no longer here.

Throughout those long months, and the ones that have followed, I disappeared into our hills, walking for miles around the woodland and up on the moors. There was comfort in the call of the curlew and the aerobatic dance of the skylarks. I watched newborn lambs grow up, and the first swallows swinging on the telegraph wire by the farm. I watched the barn owl silently floating through the dusky twilight sky, dimpled with the first glittering stars and observed the soft glow of sunset at Midsummer. The peace and tranquility of being in my landscape allowed me to release some of the burdens that I carried, the anxiety, sadness and despair.

Although nature and wildlife have influenced my work for a while now, since last year I have spent more time really observing it, getting up close to plants and flowers as they first peek through the cold soil as fierce green buds and then watching them grow into beautiful wild flowers, sprinkling the edges of the lanes with vibrant colour.

I learnt to identify more wild flowers by name, and bought cheap second hand nature books with beautiful hand painted studies inside to look at. I also began to use my sketchbook to study animals and birds, and lost myself in their physiology and form, delighting in the shades of their fur and the beauty of the pattern on their feathers.

I also went out on sketching trips with my artist friend, Marna. Lugging bag loads of supplies we’d set up camp for a few hours and make art. Getting outdoors with a sketchbook is a wonderful thing to do! Drawing from life and what surrounds you makes you more aware of the moment. You notice colour, movement and shape, and how the light changes with the passing of a cloud.

I have started this new year determined to build a collection of work inspired by the Yorkshire landscape that surrounds my home, and further afield out to the coastline. I would love to design a calendar featuring these images, and some new prints and greetings cards.

The idea formed on a walk one wintery day in December. I knew I needed a purpose to create, a reason to get out of bed and something positive to focus on. Drawing from the landscape, and the animals and birds which have provided such healing and comfort, I will be painting twelve pictures that capture the seasons, the colours and story of my part of the world.

I know I am very fortunate to have so much beauty on my doorstep, as I understand the benefit it brings. However, nature in paintings and artwork can also have a powerful impact, with scientific studies showing that viewing nature scenes can play a huge role in healing, reducing stress and anxiety and the need for pain medication among other positive attributes.

Under the Balsamic Moon

Using nature and art together, I hope to be able to convey the beauty of our landscape and each season through the illustrative qualities of my work. Art has the power to create extraordinary reactions and responses, emotionally and physically. It is my wish, in some small way, to contribute something beautiful, restorative and healing for you, in what at times feels like, a very fast paced and challenging world.

If you would like to follow more of my art journey, you’re welcome to follow me on my social media (links below), or subscribe to my monthly Art Bulletin.