It's a great questions and like many great questions, is simple in nature but nuanced in its subjectivity. Ask 100 people and you are likely to return 100 answers, each more interesting than the last. For me, the answer is fairly simple - I love bright colors, am fascinated by texture and enjoy abstract expressionism. Art that combines these three quite often makes my day.
From where I sit as an artist and social worker, we exist at a unique point in time and space where mood has more power than ever. Thanks to technology, our moods are rarely isolated experiences - they impact the people around us immensely. Consider email or social media as an example - 100 years ago, if we were mad at our cousin halfway across the country, they'd get a letter four weeks later that was brief and pointed. Now, we can easily send a wall of text to that same cousin, driven purely by anger and impulse, in a matter of seconds.
The same is true of joy. How often during our days do we stop to savor something delicious, melodic or beautiful? A cute picture of a pet or a thoughtful comment can warm our heart instantly, inspiring us to pass our happiness forward. Once again, technology enables this to happen - and if you consider that over 5 billion humans currently have access to the internet, some basic math asserts that our global capacity for sparking joy is immense.
I feel compelled to contribute to this phenomena through the creation and sharing of mood-boosting art. As one thoughtful Instagram use commented recently,
"Cannot comment on all but I had a wonderful experience streaming through all of this….❤️"
Exactly what I hope to achieve with my art - a wonderful experience. Art can spark joy, inspire happiness, generate warmth and contribute to healing. What an incredible thing to be even a tiny, tiny part of it.