Women in Art: Finding Healing and Inner Peace Through Art

Growing up, Vine Lucas I struggled with her mental health and leaned into art as an outlet. This led her to exploring it as a passion which improved her mental wellness. Reflecting on the role of art in her life, she opens up about how it became her source of peace.

"There was a period of 11 years where I immediately stopped doing art. I associated it with the dark parts of my mental health struggles which is ironic as at the time I never knew one could get healing through art," she says. As a way to navigate the lockdown during COVID, she picked up a palette knife, "Not knowing how to use it as I have never used it before, I reconnected with my passion and fell in love with art all over again." Below, she lets us in on the benefits of leaning into art as therapy.

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Here’s why you should try art therapy

Art therapy isn't about skill; it's about showing up and creating space to heal

For me, art assists me to be able to express myself where words cannot. I let the paint take over, being mindful in the moment - having peace in my soul and letting my palette knife and paint brushes reflect what I am feeling. This shows that art is therapeutic - that art therapy, especially guided art therapy can allow a release, a sense of safety and a form of assisting you to focus on your mental health and unwind.

Tap into the healing power of creativity. You don't have to be an "artist" to benefit, you just have to be willing to open yourself up and be vulnerable and intrigued at the same time of what you are going to express.

After years of silence, I picked up my brush again—and this piece marks the beginning of a new artistic chapter. In it, I found not only colour and movement, but hope. What follows is the story behind the strokes.

"I found I could say things with colour and shapes that I couldn't say any other way—things I had no words for, emphasizing art as a language for the unspeakable” - Georgia O'Keeffe

Art carries the spectrum of my soul, from anguish to awakening

This painting is about breaking through sadness and reaching for the light. Water moves with both softness and strength—it always finds a way forward, just as healing does when guided by divine hands. A reminder that even in the chaos, transformation is taking place

In this painting, I see someone beginning to break through sadness and silence, reaching for the light. The lower part of the face is clear and full of life—lips that look ready to speak their truth, a chin held up with quiet strength. But the upper part is covered in a wave of blues and whites—like clouds, or water, or tears. It feels like the weight of heavy thoughts slowly lifting, piece by piece.

There’s something powerful in the mix of messiness and control here. It shows the moment where chaos meets calm. Where pain starts to soften, and something new begins to form.

Water has been a powerful messenger throughout my healing journey. It moves with purpose, with softness and strength all at once. It carves through mountains, crashes down cliffs, kisses flowers, and always finds a way forward. There is no stopping it. And neither can healing be stopped when it’s guided by divine hands.

Through the flowing blues and fractured skies on this canvas, I feel God whisper: “I am with you. The healing is happening.”

There is a very important quote that has always been dear to my heart. I first found it on a sugar packet for the first time. I remember every morning I would have my mug of coffee and would choose a sugar packet at random - the Hullette’s ones with quotes on the back.

“Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; massive characters are seamed with scars” - Kahlil Gibran

Instinctive colours: How green and pink awakened heart and healing

When a painting takes on a life of its own... This piece ended up looking completely different from what I originally envisioned. I surrendered control and let whatever was inside me flow onto the canvas. I found myself naturally drawn to green and pink, only realizing after completing it how much colour psychology influenced the subconscious narrative—bringing together themes of growth, vitality, and heart-centered energy.

The use of green and pink in this painting wasn’t intentional—it unfolded instinctively. I noticed the container of green paint, reached for it, and before I knew it, a rose bloomed along the side of the portrait’s head. My palette knife moved with more gentleness this time, softer and more fluid than in my first piece.

These colours—green and pink—carry the essence of tenderness, safety, and emotional balance. Looking back, I now see that my heart was beginning to awaken, learning to trust again. I was no longer seeing the world in stark black and white, but through a vibrant spectrum of colour. Through returning to my art, I was reclaiming the truth that the darkness could no longer consume me.

“Pink is feminine and romantic, affectionate and intimate, thoughtful and caring. It tones down the physical passion of red replacing it with a gentle loving energy. Pink is intuitive and insightful, showing tenderness and kindness with its empathy and sensitivity.”

Green, with its connection to nature and love, is often seen as having a particularly calming and soothing effect, and is also closely linked to positive emotions. It symbolises growth, and life, and in colour psychology, it is associated with qualities such as harmony, and a sense of security.

This painting feels powerful and emotional—it brings up a lot of feelings just by looking at it. At first, you see the face of a strong person with deep, beautiful skin tones. The top part of their face is hidden under a crown of wild green leaves and pink flowers. It’s like their thoughts or minds are growing into a garden. The lips stand out — slightly open, full of emotion, like they want to speak but are holding something in.

It feels like standing still in a wild place—surrounded by beauty, but feeling something deep and quiet inside. It’s calm but not peaceful. Heavy but not without hope. There’s a soft kind of strength in it, like someone who’s been through a lot but is still here, still growing.

Screaming onto the canvas: raw chaos, unfiltered emotion, and emotional release

Painted with thick, intentional palette knife swishes, this artwork relies purely on color, texture, and movement to tell a story. By keeping the face abstract and featureless, there are no boundaries—anyone can see themselves in this space. It’s a celebration of pure, unfiltered feeling.

This next painting shows a figure from the torso up, with no clear face—just colours and textures layered over one another. The figure wears a crown of bold red and pink flowers, standing tall. The body is made up of thick, rough strokes in every direction. Nothing feels still or quiet. It’s messy, raw, and full of emotion. Purple, blue, red, brown, gold—they all clash and blend at the same time. There’s no smoothness here. Just energy, chaos, and release.

This was my third painting—a torso, head, shoulders, and bust. I don’t usually paint in this style, so it surprised me. But it poured out of me, like something that had been waiting for a long time. The strokes are wild and rushed, like they carry anger, sadness, hurt—like every part of my body and mind needed to scream it out onto the canvas. There was no room for grace or calm in this piece.

Now, looking back, I can see that something shifted after this. My work became softer, smoother, stronger. Each piece started to hold love, not just sadness. Beauty, not just chaos. Finding stillness after everything inside felt so loud.

A spectrum of peace: The transition from trauma to tranquility

A quiet return to self. Where my earlier works were defined by thick, raw textures capturing trauma and release, this smoother painting steps into a space of purity, softness, and peace. Releasing the heaviness to make room for a gentle new beginning.

This is my fourth painting that represents a powerful shift in my emotional and energetic state. Unlike my first three pieces, which were chaotic and raw with thick palette knife textures echoing trauma and emotional release, this smoother, brush-based work reflects a sense of calm, healing, and grounding.

The softness in the skin and the gentle presence of the flower symbolize purity, rebirth, and a quiet return to self. The absence of violent strokes suggests that I’ve released some of the heaviness and am now exploring the stillness that follows—a vulnerable, innocent new beginning that is unfolding.

“You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.”— C. S. Lewis

Explore further art pieces done by Viné Lucas:

Each of these pieces captures a distinct moment in my journey of reflection, expression and growth. Through these visual stories and behind-the-scenes glimpses, I invite you to explore the evolving layers, movement and emotion behind my work.

Heavy Strokes, Quiet Truths – Expressing Raw Emotion Through Art

A powerful exploration of raw emotion through expressive strokes, texture and movement, reflecting the feelings that can be difficult to express in words.

The Healing Power of Touch – Finding Safety and Connection Through Art

An exploration of touch, connection and the sense of safety that can come from feeling held, supported and connected.

Held by the Earth - A Moment of Sacred Vulnerability

A visual reflection on vulnerability, grounding and the connection between the self, nature and the process of healing.

Seeing Through Sunshine – Shifting Focus Toward the Light

A reflection on changing perspective and choosing to notice moments of light, hope and possibility during a personal journey.

The Sunflower Theory:

“They say when you give someone sunflowers, you should give two. Because when the sun is shining, sunflowers turn toward the light. But when no light comes they turn towards each other. Finding light in one another. So when you gift someone sunflowers, what you’re really saying is…

Even in your darkest moments, you’ll never face them alone.” - Anonymous