The sketchbook that healed me.

[@MAURICZZIO1]

My beautiful wife of 25 years passed away on June 4th 2019. I used to sketch every day and my only admirer was my wife who always had a complement saying: "beautiful". After her passing I stopped for two years. I just started again and is helping me with my loss.

[@Decopainterandtea]

🧡💚💙

[@jeanmitchell5834]

Beautiful and moving on all levels

[@brendadrew834]

So sorry for your loss, can relate in some ways as well. Just read that French painter Claude Monet also didn't paint for a whole year after his first wife passed away and then years later his second wife and his oldest son passed away and he didn't paint for awhile. He almost gave it up completely at one point and tried to commit suicide when he was young! A great book about his life at Giverny and his famous gardens and his personality and what he went through during WW1 and the end of his life is, "Mad Enchantment", by Ross King, great read! Best wishes~

[@DrLynika]

Thinking of you Angelo may kindness find you through the pages and in life. Take care of yourself 🙏🏽✨

[@AllThingsSoul]

25 years is a long time and a great loss. I'm glad you found your passion in Art again. Keep drawing!

[@ghoshashok5811]

Amazing life history of an artist

[@bushtherapy7655]

Drawing is one of the few things that make me present

[@BijayaLakshmiSarma]

I don't know why I cried when he talked about how drawing helped him to see his wife as the wonderful human she was and not as a problem. That's really the purpose of art: It helps us see things in it's true light and beyond the shadows of our judgement. ❤️

[@debchambers8563]

I understand the need for something like that to cope with an abusive childhood. But my mother told me I wasn’t artistic, my sister was. She told me I was the writer, she was the artist, and my brother was the musician. We weren’t allowed to move out of our pigeonholes. I had such a strong desire to be creative but felt I wasn’t an artist. I am challenging that belief now. It might take the rest of my life but I don’t care.

[@vani519]

I was told by my art-teacher at school that I couldn’t draw nor paint. I got bad grades for my work and eventually that made me believe what he said. I didn’t put more effort into it although I initially loved being creative. I was 41 years old when I finally thought: „ I really REALLY want to draw and paint. And I actually don’t have to show it to anyone.“ So I started. 2 years later, I filled one Sketchbook after the other. I am well known in my local artshop and even found a friend there. I am a member of the urban sketchers and my paintings and drawings are hanging on other peoples walls! My sister, that I lost contact to for years, asked me to do a sketchbooktour for her. And my father in law once got to know the story of why I didn’t paint all the years before. We found out that actually my artsteacher from school was a friend of his. He took a painting of mine off his wall and left the house that evening. When he came back, he said: „He said that he was wrong. And he is sorry.“ My son is 10 years old. He was told by his teacher that he is not artistic last year. Immediately I asked the urban sketchers in my hometown if he could join. The leader of the group commented on every single post at the group (due to the coronavirus it was just online) and let him know that he did great. My son went to his teacher and told her that it is ok if she doesn’t like his art-style. But saying that it is „not good“ is not something that she should judge. Because art is individual. His last creative artpiece is still shown in the school-gallery. That’s how art healed me-and prevented him from ever thinking that he can’t do art.

[@glddraco666]

@@vani519 I've been told things like I am not an artist or that I'm not good, etc. It's a painful experience to go through.

[@lindahazel5075]

@@debchambers8563 Of course you are artistic or musical or whatever else you want to be. As soon as you touch your medium of choice to the paper, canvas, wood, you ARE an artist. (My mother did the same to my sister and I. My father told us that she didn't get to decide who we are. NO ONE could. We were the only ones to choose.) I believe you can do it! Right now if you want.

[@debchambers8563]

@@lindahazel5075 Thank you!

[@Vivian-nv9hb]

I am almost 83 and I love to draw. Very relaxing!

[@SketchBookSkool]

That's great!

[@samrhoades5088]

This is the most wholesome video I've ever seen on this platform in 15 years. This guy deserves recognition for what he does. Thank you, sir.

[@SketchBookSkool]

Wow, thank you! Glad you liked it!

[@julietukonu6821]

☝️

[@suzyq3225]

My husband was paralyzed at the age of 29. We had 2 kids. His accident was excruciating. I've painted him in oils 3xs. Creative endeavors have been an integral part of my life. If I go a period of time without creating, I get depressed. THANK YOU for reminding me how important it is to continue creating every day. We have been married 46 years, so far.

[@beverlyhelm5287]

I knew someone who made little houses out of cardboard boxes she cut up. She said she couldn’t afford other supplies. She had an impressive little village.

[@terrymead2122]

You mentioned two things toward the end that grabbed me; connecting with blessings, the communions. Know God, see Him in everything. No God, see Him in nothing. I see Him in the gift He gave you that helped heal you. We live in a broken world. He can use anything in a life, and He is.

[@SketchBookSkool]

I'm so glad it was helpful, Terry Mead!

[@babybambi8389]

You are healing others whilst you're healing yourself.

[@fabioarturospada4178]

The entirety of this video is one of the most beautiful things I've heard another human ever speak of. Thank you so much for sharing with us.

[@susanmitchell5317]

I’ve drawn all my life; I went to art school and worked in industry until I went freelance in 1986, the year before my sons birth. My son drowned at the age of 26 and drawing and painting is the only thing that keeps me sane. It helps me forget the nightmare that is my life and the continual sadness and anger just for a few brief hours at a time.

[@sorsofia]

My son was drowned at the age of 32, 5 years ago in a few days. I started a drawing diary because of Danny Gregory. It's also the only thing, apart from my faith, which brings me comfort. ❤️

[@susanmitchell5317]

@@sorsofia …..I have no faith but drawing and painting I do have….

[@julied.9528]

I have no words to make things any better or to make sense of your tragic loss, but I can say from one human to another that I am sending you love and light with the hope that you find more opportunities for renewed happiness. May your art continue to bring you peace and healing.

[@susanmitchell5317]

@@julied.9528 Thank you for your lovely thoughts and words. Tomorrow, 23rd July, would be his 34th birthday. Now forever young x

[@julied.9528]

@@susanmitchell5317 What is your son's first name? I will have him in my thoughts on his special day.

[@judithehrhardt924]

Thank you. I am affirmed. I am not wasting time. Your gift has done its job. Thank you.

[@garrettgriffin4974]

"Thank you. I am affirmed. I am not wasting time." That could be me as well. Thank you for expressing it so beautifully.

[@susanyoung1600]

Succinct, well said and exactly right! Me, too!

[@Sketchbook999]

It's called investing in yourself my dear , definately NOT wasting time. Time wisely spent. Peace

[@michaelag6829]

Yes! Totally and completely

[@Happinosis]

I’m 51 and was diagnosed with early onset Parkinson’s at 48. I started teaching myself to draw this year and it’s been so helpful for me. Today is my 15th wedding anniversary and I’ve finally been able to admit, today, on a rare day out together to my husband, that I actually feel disabled, and you know what? It was ok. I’m finding other ways to live and drawing is a big part of it. Thank you for sharing with us xxx PS the one thing I’ve never thought is why me? Why the hell not me? I’m not the only one. Doesn’t mean I haven’t cried coming to terms with it, but you know….sending so much love your way xxxx

[@bibianamiranda5006]

Last year I saw a documental that was related to a study about Parkinson and riding bikes,.,seems that riding bike is amazingly good for people with Parkinson, at that time the reasons were not exactly defined...anyway I thought will be good to comment this...bikes are fun and you never know can help you a lot. Blessings. :)

[@Happinosis]

@@bibianamiranda5006 thank you. You’re right, they’re great fun, forward motion is good for us and balance is a key issue. I used to roller skate well into my 30s and I loved it.

[@bibianamiranda5006]

Harpy anniversary ..and enjoy life everyday, draw, ride bike, kiss your husband , you are more than a “disability “ and more than ever these times should make as value what is really important in life, our family and people we love, at the end only that matters..cheers and blessings

[@Happinosis]

@@bibianamiranda5006 thank you so much. Life is good. Xxx

[@yvannah4279]

I wish you a happy life ❤️ sending you love

[@garysmathers888]

I'm so sorry. Life can be so cruel sometimes.

[@JillMcKeever]

Wow. Thank you.

[@barbaralyn7019]

My husband became an incomplete quad back in ‘81 when we were 25. We had plans for 7 years to marry a year after he graduated from college. Five months later during Thanksgiving weekend he broke his neck snow skiing. We’re still together 41 years later, and I can say over the years I have accepted God’s plan for my life in a bittersweet way…. I get bouts of depression and have had a hard time getting inspired to draw or paint or journal even though I know it feels good to get in the timelessness of the zone. I do feel as if I have been meditating for a few hours when I am finished. I’m glad to find you and hear your experience and how doing art is inspiring you. Thanks for your transparency about your journey; it makes others inspired and not so alone in our sometimes lonely and painful times.

[@deepthivr2484]

A big hug...to your whole family.

[@costelinha1867]

This is what your wife probably would want too, not to be pitied as someone who got "broken", but to be still seen for who she is, even if she now has a handicap. I don't say this to judge you, I get that people who have close bonds to disabled people sometimes feel this way, they really pity them, they seem to grieve for them to a fault, and I can see why, no one wants to see their wife being permanently bound to a wheelchair, but sometimes that pain, that sadness we feel for another person can blind us, and prevent us for seeing that they're still the same person we knew and loved, they're not less for being disabled. That's what makes this so beautiful.

[@rhyman01]

It’s timely that you shared this. When I was young, I had a gift of drawing and painting. It was my escape- my healing from a severely abusive childhood. I could go into my world and bring out beauty. As I grew, I got even better, until I left home and went to college. I became so busy with a full time job and going to school that art was tossed on a back burner. Several years later, I tried to pick it back up. I was horrified. I couldn’t even draw a stick house. I had convinced myself that my gift was given to me to cope and now I no longer needed it and the gift had to go to another child. I felt guilt over my anger about not being able to draw and paint like I once did. Over the years, life became so busy and I just put it out of my mind. After 40 years, I decided to try again. I tried different media and other crafts. I allowed myself to receive my gift and not hold onto that silly belief from my childhood that I could only have it for awhile and had to return it to the Universe. My awareness that we all have these gifts, sometimes only dormant, can sprout at anytime we are willing to let a little light in. Thank you, again for sharing. I enjoy your channel. We all need hope. Without hope, we might as well be dead.

[@myhandmadejournals]

We should be open to the opportunities that cross our lives. In Italy we say “catch that train, it’s not going to stop here anymore “

[@Cristobels-Green-Boots]

Beautifully put -- thank you so much! From Brighton UK: take care and be well 🙏🏻🌹🙏🏽

[@TM15HAKRN]

Oh Last line u hv written...oh True.... Art has its own admirers... We hv to do it

[@nameissturdy1390]

I believe we eventually go back to the things that delighted us as children. When the weight of the world wasn’t on our shoulders and we were free to explore before we started being told what we were doing was silly or a waste of time. Seeing a mass of frog eggs in a vernal pool in the springtime, finding a piece of a robins egg, looking for four leave clovers are free, simple, and absolutely amazing to me. Going back to rediscover these interests and recording them in a book or journal is priceless and healing. Thank you for sharing your story and let your gift grow.

[@Sketchbook999]

Thankyou for letting that bit of light in- its a life changer. Taking the first step is not easy but once we do it then it becomes easier.

[@pamelahansen5928]

Thank you 😔💝grateful for your sharing- lost my husband to complications of Parkinson’s and it’s taken four years to climb out of the sadness- because of drawing 💝

[@sarahyip2825]

Profound. "To Feel love for the world. And to heal myself."

[@byMarceloENG]

This is the most beautiful and touching video I EVER watched. Your art healed you and now you help thousands of people to the same process. You're special, you're a great person, an amazing human being and a inspirational talented artist. I'm so glad of being of your followers. XOXO Marcelo

[@mountainside26]

Exactly how I feel. Couldn’t have said it better.

[@deekshasingh8032]

During the pandemic, I developed severe depression, and one night had a psychotic breakdown. That was the most horrible time of my life, I truly believed that if hell was real, it was in my head. But after some medication, Someday I just bought a paintbrush and watercolor set, and life really changed after that. I could not paint at all before but during that time of the pandemic, painting was the only thing that kept me sane. I am a lot better now, and I always carry my painting equipment everywhere now.

[@samdavepollard]

i'm here watching this on 9 june 2022 thank you for sharing your story

[@LucasSavelli-e3w]

Really loved the comparison when kids do art! They don't careee!!! And it's GREAT that way.

[@sonseraedesigns]

Wonderful. Thank you so much for sharing. After I left a domestic violence marriage and was in trauma, I just kept painting and painting and painting and realized that it was healing me. I now have a nonprofit called Sophie‘s dream to help people heal from the trauma and PTSD through the arts. God created music and dance and art for us to heal…Thank you so much for sharing your story, journey and strength and say prayers for me as I do my best to help others heal as well.

[@kr1221E]

There is something very spiritual about your story. While you confided in monks, ministers etc, you got the spirituality from inside of yourself, you can tell by the calm in your voice.

[@martinetmoi1]

Thank you for sharing your story with us! "Everywhere I saw beauty and I felt love"

[@SketchBookSkool]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@judyhammond3181]

It has healed me also. I tell people it opened the door to my now happy life.

[@2225ram]

This was affirming to me. When you spoke about how you don’t have to teach children how to draw I cried. The expectations and standards I put on myself as an artist always slows me down or halts me. But lately I’ve been trying to throw those expectations out the window. And it has helped. Thanks for affirming that for me. Thanks for sharing your story. It was very touching. Thank you!

[@philippriestman8516]

Like Picasso said ‘when I was a child I painted like an accomplished adult, it has taken me a lifetime to paint like a child’

[@2225ram]

@@philippriestman8516 I’d love to learn from him

[@aaronying4989]

Yea I sometimes really do miss that feeling of creating as a child, it’s so free and unrestricted and important. It gradually gets pushed out of you as you grow up, it is sad.

[@monicablacklock1688]

During the isolation of this pandemic my touretts came out. When the motor ticks became so bad I couldn't live with myself I got involved painting murals for our community. I was present in the world again. I wasn't hurting anymore. My impulse control is regained. Art is a gift.

[@priscillalowery5109]

I’m going to try this beginning tomorrow after a year of health crisis, anxiety and depression. Thank you.

[@arlenealennox3136]

My husband had a bad stroke and died three months later. Fortunately, I had already discovered art journaling five years previously and it was such a solace. At a widows’ support group I introduced another widow to art journaling and we started a local sketching group. Art certainly helped me get on with my life.

[@connieebinger6343]

Ah, the line that things around us are waiting to be seen was an ah ha moment for me. I am sitting in my car eating lunch at work and when you said that I looked up from the video and looked around and thought look at the hundreds of things right in front of me waiting to be seen, Trees and buildings and plants and bushes and agapanthus and cars just to name a few. I love that line! I’m gonna put it in my sketchbook, And look at the world differently now. Thank you.

[@qumrantaj4255]

Dude... you are a guru. That is to say, you are what gurus SHOULD be. Through your "superpower" you tap into the larger truths of life and beckon the rest of us, not to learn from you... but rather to learn WITH you. Thanks for these great vids.

[@garrettgriffin4974]

Yeah; what you said. *applauseapplauseapplause*

[@grizeldaxxx4568]

So true ...such Wisdom condensed into just over 7 mins !!!

[@vishnu2407]

Beautifully put

[@jeanneburns1118]

After my beloved dog died, I wrote the story of his life through his words. His story, my illustrations. I was deep in grief from his death and drawing our life together was incredibly healing - way better than having photographs to remember him by. Thank you for sharing your story Danny, you are always so inspiring through your honesty.

[@Kiwi403]

I cried too. This man is so inspiring. I'm picking up a 2B pencil.

[@annastinehammersdottir1290]

Me too! And I love a good pencil, narrow but soft and no eraser.

[@TheDodoshwedo]

He said to use a pen.

[@artgirl7649]

I needed to hear THIS message right now. Thank you so much.

[@charu2774]

This channel has officially become my favourite one on KZbin. When I had stopped drawing it was you who motivated me to pick up my sketchbook again. I am extremely grateful for the videos you post

[@sarahz.9852]

same for me. it's a great channel. so happy and grateful that I found it

[@janlorman7700]

A return to drawing and painting has kept me sane during the past 10 years of my husband’s mental illness. Sketching produces such a sense of freedom and a release from the inner critic. No perfection required. Thanks for this video. I’ll rewatch it often.

[@adelefouche8741]

Beautiful words, I too was healed by drawing... It continues to give me a reason to keep living and loving. ❤

[@pibarrante6901]

Creative people HAVE to create. When my artist friends are going thru hell, I always provide this simple guidance: "whrn your going thru hell, keep going. ART WILL SAVE YOU. and then, if needed, i teach the art of hole digging - as my right brained cohorts frequently dig their holes

[@SketchBookSkool]

Sounds like you're a wise friend to know!

[@TheArtOfJerry]

Drawing has been my healing too. So thankful for God, to give me a heart to draw. Although, I Drawing on my cheap tablet not iPad. The whole process bring me to Another realm, my zen zone. Even until this day, when my life goes low valley, I start to draw again. " Drawing to live. Living to draw" has been my life slogan. I can't imagine one day passing without Drawing. Thank God for the passion for drawing.

[@Lakeibo]

Thank you for this Danny. As a registered Art Therapist this story helps me to see the work I do is valid. I so appreciate you sharing your story and journey.

[@kathleenfredrickson8593]

I get what you were saying. My feet are not what I would call pretty, but I drew them once and felt love for myself open up. I saw my character in my feet as I drew them and I lit up from within. It was not about taking thought at all. It felt magical just as you expressed in this video. Thanks. I think we experience ourself in the other this way , in a flower, leaf, cat, whatever. I have heard that people are healed of depression by doing self portraits of themselves from mirror images.

[@susanhouser8989]

How courageous and wonderful you are to have told your story. You are inspiring to so many.

[@SketchBookSkool]

Thank you so much!

[@terryemerson7226]

This video may have just now saved my life from a continuous pit of despair.

[@bhadurianand9046]

Absolutely wonderful. There are millions who need to hear this. Hope all of them hears this and finds their inspiration to move on

[@helenpk237]

God blessed you my dear, with the gift of artwork , even though you didn’t know it at the time but, God helped you find your true inner self of the love of your dear wife , who is & was always the same lively person, but when the accident or whatever your dear wife suffered, God found a way for you to still see her inner beauty !! Bless you Sir , & all your lively Family xx I too have turned to art & just learning to draw & paint what I see , which sometimes I get it out of proportion , nevertheless, as you keep saying ,Never give up !! Keep on trying & you will be amazed at your wonderful Progress! I’m 80 now & it is NEVER too late to learn xx thank you once again for your encouragement xx Helen Kirrage xx

[@PaintWithPencil]

Explore art and discover life! Glad you shared this. I think too many people think being an artist is a career choice. I think art is the practice of appreciation and expression, regardless if your "day job".

[@maruxmendez]

In deed many people think making art it’s just a job… one day I didn’t felt connected with expressing my feelings and it was a lot of pressure to do it just because it’s my job! That way of trying to make art is so frustrating!

[@ownedbymykitty270]

Well said 🙏

[@ash5800]

Even as someone young, I've went through loss and other forms of hurt. From love to depression and so on. Being able to draw helped me so much.

[@alison64able]

What a beautiful gentle soul you are.... despite.

[@lisaoloughlin6476]

So Touching, boy I really needed to hear this.....................

[@RawSpirited]

Dear Mr. Gregory, I am one of those people, watching and enjoying your videos, but never commenting. Now I just have to... Thank you so very much for sharing this! I won't go into detail about how this hits home, but it does in more ways than one. This video made me cry, the ugly cry! That's a good thing :) Please know, your videos are a part of my own journey of acceptance and hopefully healing. So again, thank you... Not just for this one, but for the others as well. Love to you and your precious family 🙏🏻

[@suebee_7625]

"...not a problem to be solved." Thank you, very much, for sharing this.

[@carmengomez-munoz4723]

What an impactful event you spoke about. Sorry about your wife and the feelings you had for a while, however, glad you found an escape route that to this day is profoundly positive in your life.

[@angietaylor5256]

Thank you… to heal, I too, draw. So much joy🥰♥️

[@SketchBookSkool]

Oh, good! I'm so glad you liked it, Angie Taylor.

[@Essuna]

Thank you. I've been having a hard time finding love and comfort from this world for several years now. I am a professional illustrator but I stopped drawing because I ended up having too many unpleasant experiences with drawing as a job. Now I feel I need to find the love for this world again, the enjoyment and I think on drawing but there's so much anxiety when I pick a pen to do so. But your words are giving me a friendly push, a push that tells me I'm going in the right direction. That I should just draw for the sake of it, of seeing the world and not for excellence. So I can feel love again for what's around me and my own life. Thank you, many blessings to you and you loved ones.

[@SketchBookSkool]

That's so nice to hear. I hope you find your joy in drawing again. Thanks for watching.

[@Essuna]

@@SketchBookSkool Thanks to you 🙌

[@henrietta9206]

keep on trucking, dear Essuna What you do is right, and powerful! 💪

[@lisaa6099]

Love thus. My life changed 9 years ago. Ive been in a daze. Im now 49 and have just "lost a decade" .......,, i need to learn how to draw. And sing etc. bless you I hope your life is still improving

[@garrettgriffin4974]

Bravo! Molto Bene! Most excellent. May your healing continue -- and mine as well, for I use my sketchbook for the same purpose.

[@BethBurns68]

I just found your channel about an hour ago (I believe God directed me to your channel) and oh, my goodness...this post got to me! Bless you. Thank you so much for sharing you and Patty's story and how you found your way out of darkness. I'm also emerging from darkness and I do believe drawing in a sketchbook may be a ticket for me to get back to the light as well. Thank you a thousand times.

[@SketchBookSkool]

Welcome!!

[@FiannaThornton74]

I would die to be loved like that.

[@Faiza_Hassan_Art]

Thank you so much for sharing your story! We all need healing sometimes. Love and respect for you and your wife.

[@Mindverve7]

Your channel (rather randomly) popped up in my feed recently and INSTANTLY inspired me. Perhaps not random after all. It seems to me that the harder I look for “the answer” the more elusive it becomes. When I stop looking and just sort of let go and let life unfold without my trying to wrangle and control it, answer or inspiration comes! Thank you Danny for sharing and inspiring!

[@JF-kv1gm]

Me too. Karma, serendipity, algorithms, a video encouraging a daily entry in a sketchbook...and you know what? I am hooked, having done 6 sketches so far, and discovering the meditative qualities of putting marks on paper. I set my timer to 20 mins and begin. It's such a joy to have received this "nudge".

[@JF-kv1gm]

Re-reading your comment, it resonates so strongly. Once you let go and relax, stop trying or searching, something "reveals" itself and, often, it turns out to be something that was like the sun hidden temporarily behind the clouds.

[@user-mo6dt9lw7g]

"This peace I was looking for so long was right there, between the floss and the q-tips" :) I love this.

[@SketchBookSkool]

Thanks!

[@cowboyjohnsontown]

Hearing this made me cry, especially the way you describe how drawing helped you. Helped you slow down. Helped you see not just what's in front of you, but life itself. The world is waiting, we just need to slow down enough to notice it. Thank you so much.

[@Brian-bd1df]

What a wonderful and revealing story. I'm blown away with you honesty and spiritual expression. I am humbled me beyond measure. TRULY!

[@xk_monster]

This is beautiful, and so are you.

[@mandyxu7095]

Thank you for your video and it made me memory a flashback. I had a familiar experience two years ago. I lost contact with an important person in my life. I cried every night and then, I searched for each familiar face in the crowd. I started to read and draw from that time onwards. I found that I could read all love stories, and sketch all the happy couples who walk along the beach hand in hand. I learned to be strong and alone, I also found beauty through sketching in my life. I deeply realized that sketching has the super power of healing. Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards.

[@nomadartlife]

Thank you Danny. My son was born with profound disabilities 31 years ago so understand about your struggles to come to terms with your wife's accident. I have only fairly recently (at age 58) started to learn how to paint - and am now learning to draw. I loved your comment about "turn the page and leave the drawing behind like an old banana peel". I have been grappling with how "good" my drawings are but absolutely get into the zone and relax when creating them - which as you say - is the point! I have written your comment into my sketchbook as a reminder when I need it. All power to you and your family.

[@Messiah1976]

God has blessed you beautiful human being. Create, love, hope 🙏🕊️🙏

[@monikaazariah9237]

I cried tears of joy.....yes it took me back to how drawing healed me too....when I lost my dad....it was a place of therapy and also a place to connect with things I'm grateful for ....🙏❣️

[@henrietta9206]

condolences, Monika (my Dad passed May 2017, and 12yo bunny 1st June 2022)

[@letsplaywithlife3063]

Oh Gosh! This honesty deserved most viewed on a planet!

[@leen_art]

Thank you ❤ This is so beautiful!!! I started drawing when the pandemic started and honestly it's a great escape, I don't care if my drawings are beautiful or ugly they serve a purpose and that's worth the effort.

[@snakewomangirl]

Thank you so much. I have got bipolar & a host of other labels, I left therapy after 10 years in December, I was getting worse and instead started drawing & painting everyday, immersing myself in the process and learning all about watercolour. I feel peaceful, my anxiety has reduced tenfold, I am beginning to see the world differently, albeit in tonal values and composition, but it is so powerful. I have tried to meditate for years but the things that have always helped are walking, going to the gym, journaling and drawing. Looks like I’m going to incorporate drawing with writing and create illustrated journals from now on. One step at a time. No mania, no depression or anxiety, just step by step and day by day.

[@toniritchie6018]

“Saw beauty and felt love!” Beautiful indeed. Such an intimate account. Thank you

[@hopesprings4034]

I didn’t know why I discovered making art, beyond doodles, during the pandemic. But painting, drawing…It got me through it. But I didn’t understand the sketchbook appeal. And now my twin sister has been diagnosed with something terrifying. I will start a sketchbook because of your beautiful video. Thank you.

[@darlenesassmann9418]

What a beautiful message. Thank you very much for your insight. Sometimes I am focussed too much on making a "good or beautiful" drawing. It is a spiritual act, this drawing, and now I will have a new approach. Thank you again.

[@cshimko7447]

I haven’t stopped thinking about this beautiful gift of sharing this so transparently and painfully honest……. about something the world tries to chase away with happy messages and positive cliches. Thank you for letting us cry and feel our own grief and disappointment in a moment of parallel hopefulness and beauty.

[@joannatseng1721]

Thanks for openly sharing your story, Danny. While my experience is far from what you went through (and I'm sorry for your loss), it was because I was also going through a difficult time and I drew myself out of this dark tunnel page by page. Through discovering drawing followed by learning about urban sketching and you, it reaffirmed for me that it was never too late to start drawing so thank you for being an inspiration to me. Thank you for giving me the gift of a creative habit that I know will be with me for now for the rest of my life!

[@SketchBookSkool]

💗

[@laurab7931]

Art is therapy. Or can be if the artist let's it happen. Tomorrow I'm buying a sketchbook. Decades ago I sketched every single day and loved it. Life happened and I stopped but I need it - the therapy - very much now. Thanks Danny.

[@Picasso_Picante92]

Wow. I'm moved. Thank you for sharing.

[@stephross700]

It’s amazing to see the difference in your face between the past and now. Your younger self seems older, based on the photographs. Your energy now is clear and bright and childlike. Your younger self bears the weight of his struggles. This is the effects of healing through art. Thank you for sharing!

[@SketchBookSkool]

I've had a lot of work done ;)

[@TexasTom46]

Astoundingly beautiful! Thank you. I am a teacher of theology but also an artist. I have always felt that art (all forms of art) is (or at least can and should be) a parallel spiritual path. Religion / spirituality and the arts both spring from and lead to the same Divine Source which is inseparable from our everyday life. Thank you for so vulnerably sharing your personal story!

[@elisa_ghilardi]

Thank you so much for sharing!

[@CoolDollx]

I normally watch videos from my xbox but i had to jump online to say THANK you for This! This was hard to do and yet it will bring so very much to the people that see it. 💜🎨

[@cchemmes-seeseeart3948]

I prayed before coming across this video, for something to help me at a point of struggle, as I face a year of opportunity to develop my art style, while finishing 2 last art college history classes (with my degree path disrupted by the pandemic), hearing an unmistakably clear calling to be an artist, confirmed over & over, yet still struggling. One thing God gave me to paint was the 'heart' symbol (in a daily devotional Word, that I read after prayer), which I couldn't understand, like the one glowing in this video. Wow. I appreciated the words about love, & gratitude... & want to listen again. I believe this was the right video to hear today, to help me go draw today & a gift. Thanks.

[@KerenTamir]

Thank you sharing your story your transformation is so powerful. When you speak all I want to do is listen. Your voice is so calming as I watched a few of your videos. Ive experienced healing with my art journal. I feel the same when I create in it and I’ve done a few videos about it. I’m guessing that’s why our channels are connected and our videos are being suggested off each other because I believe that art and creativity heals. I have experienced this zen feeling many times. But I have also experience true transformation and healing from creating a page in my journal. Thank you for your words and thank you for sharing your vulnerability. You’re a great storyteller!!! Sending love and blessings to you and your family.

[@ArtyAntics]

My first art journal was the only way I could talk to my counsellor for 18 months. I was drawing my diagnosis out on the pages long before she told me what it was. I think art is a way our minds intuitively go about healing us.

[@virginiadeklerk2388]

Greetings from Virginia, a South African living in Portugal. I have been enjoying your videos for months now and thank you not only for all I have learnt about sketching and painting but also for your wisdom. Today's video was extremely profound and inspiring and I thank you for sharing that part of your life.

[@jankimehta7332]

This video made me cry!! 5 years ago I had the worst year of my life, I had constant hospital trips, saved from breast amputation, and after all my nightmare was over, i decided to start over my life, I started painting, I enjoyed it for few years but than I started craving to sell my art, and the whole craziness to sell art became so obsessive that I froze, I forgot how fun it was just creating for the sake of creating and to b in this meditative state... I asked my divine guidance to help me get out of this constant lust and this video came up!!! Thank you so much, I am going to remember my past and just be grateful of the second life I have got 🙏🏻, and just paint ✨✨

[@SketchBookSkool]

Thanks for sharing! So glad this helped. 💛

[@janeconnor457]

Thank you Danny-you brought tears to my eyes & joy back to my heart. My SuperPower has always been there in my pen & sketchbook. Your heartfelt reminder made me climb out of my pit, start drawing again & dancing with my Muse again. Thank You❣️

[@ArtandDiamondsWithEskies]

Thank you so much. I recently lost one of my service animals and I am myself feeling lost. I needed to hear this. I needed here that my art can be what saves me not just what I hide inside of.

[@Monizallart]

That was an incredible story. Sometimes I think it is so funny how the universe shows you things right when you need them. I have been an artist my whole life but only professionally for the last 3 years. I have been struggling mentally since the beginning of the pandemic. I am recently married and I still have felt like there has been something missing. I decided to start a new sketchbook and use it in a similar way to how you use yours. I am so excited to see where my journey is going to take me. Thanks for the inspiration!

[@lightloveandawake3114]

💗😊💕I probably watched this video a year or so ago. But it’s so refreshing to watch it again. What a wonderful person you are. Thank you for sharing and keep enjoying your blessed life. We are everything but alone. I’m glad you have found your way to connect and keep loving. LOVE and PEACE to ALL💕😊💗

[@susysann]

This is, for me, the best and real definition of art therapy. Great video, it helped me more than I can say...thank you.

[@carolynschrader8381]

Wow…… You are an inspiration to all who are suffering in Grief and desperately trying to maneuver through 🌟🌟🌟

[@donnaestera2728]

Profound! This testimony is mind blowing! I love that it offers something spiritual, comforting and assuring to those of us undergoing a trials and tragedy. I love that this story ended in blessings and gratitude.....thank you for sharing. This is awe-inspiring!

[@loveleeluv7]

Thank you so much sir, for sharing your story and how Art healed you and how blessed you've been with a very Optimistic wife. God bless your family more 💖.