Artist's exhibit showcases 'therapeutic journey'

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For Erin Hennessy, putting brush to paper is more than spreading colour on a page. It’s a form of therapy.

“Art has been the thing that has literally saved me from depression,” she said.

The watercolour artist, who often uses linework overtop of the painting, has a collection of her work on display at Bathurst City Hall until April. The exhibit features three categories – landscapes with and without pen work, a floral series and an abstract series.

“I just feel vulnerable showing people my therapeutic journey because that’s what the collection really is,” she said.

Hennessy comes from an artistic family and has always had a love for art, studying it in university, while pursuing a career in her other passion – dance. The co-artistic director at Aspire Performing Arts studio says there are similarities between the two.

“The way I choreograph is often in layers and it’s the same process that you paint in watercolour. You always paint in layers,” she said.

Hennessy picked up painting again last April when she was hospitalized for burnout.

“My depression just became too much to handle and I needed to seek help, and I decided to find that help for myself,” she said.

She brought the painting supplies she hadn’t used in years with her to the hospital as a way to pass the time. As she’d sit and draw or paint each day, it would draw others in who would watch or create alongside her.

“You’re able to just disconnect completely. You’re able to just focus on the colours and honestly I love watercolour because it’s kind of alive,” she said. “I use a lot of wet on wet technique and I like to see what happens with the watercolour and then I define it with the pen afterwards.”

Hennessy has a love for abstract pieces, which she displays in her exhibit. She said the artform shows art “don’t need to be perfection.”

“I create a lot of loose work and it’s sort of a meditative process,” she said. “I kind of avoid realism and just look at the world in a different way.”

One person stands out to Hennessy from her time in hospital – a young teen who would watch her create each day, despite her offering art supplies for him to join.

On her last day in hospital, he asked for a paper to draw alongside her, and gave her his artwork that she’s held onto since.

“He drew and without looking at me he just said he was going to really miss me and that he liked drawing with me,” she said, getting emotional. “I think that was the moment that I realized how therapeutic art can be.”

Hennessy hopes more people realize the benefit of art as therapy, and feels it could be an important tool used in schools, the psychiatric unit at the hospital and other settings where people are struggling with mental health.

“I wish people realized that they had that artistic ability because they can find that sort of sense of peace doing artwork. You don’t need to be an artist to do art.”

Following the exhibit at city hall, Hennessy’s artwork will be on display at Kaffeine Espresso Bar downtown.