Doom scrolling on YouTube may usually be a waste of time but occasionally you stumble across a real, hidden gem. That happened to me a few weeks ago. I like watching YouTube videos about art and art history (and, truthfully, many other subjects). You know the way YouTube works - it takes your watch history and tries to predict other videos you might want to watch. YouTube wants you to keep watching videos - forever would be ideal for them. This was the case with my guest in this episode of The Artful Painter.
YouTube suggested to me a video on a channel called Painting Therapy, by artist and cinematographer Thomas Windsor. That expression - painting therapy - hooked me. I clicked, and I watched, and I watched, and I watched. YouTube’s algorithm was happy, and I was enthralled by what I saw and heard as Thomas painted on camera. The binge has started and I kept watching and listening to Thomas. At one point, I left one of his videos playing as I worked on a large painting. I could not see what he was doing so I just listened to him talking in the background. I usually find it highly distracting to paint with words sounding off in the background. The words through me off so it’s something I rarely ever do. I can’t listen to podcasts while I paint, nor can I listen to songs with vocals. It’s weird I know - but that’s just me. But Thomas was an exception to the rule.
After this experience, I knew I had to have Thomas Windsor on the podcast. I reached out to him and he graciously accepted. So, I’m happy to share with you our conversation in this edition of The Artful Painter. Wow! I learned a lot about Thomas in this conversation. Turns out, his day job is running a film production company. He is a cinematographer and produces commercial videos. Painting is a side-calling, but a very important one to Thomas.
To whet your appetite, here are a few things we talk about:
- Thomas Windsor’s background in filmmaking and commercial production
- Growing up in a strict household with limited media exposure
- Committing to “a painting a week”
- Why Thomas intentionally avoided formal art training
- Painting as self-education and self-discovery
- The connection between filmmaking and painting
- Why painting feels more personal and vulnerable than filmmaking
- The difference between technical perfection and emotional authenticity
- The influence of Vincent van Gogh on Thomas’s thinking about art and emotion
- Creativity as a direct emotional expression rather than a technical exercise
- The dangers of overthinking and perfectionism
- “Painting Therapy” and art as emotional regulation
- Depression, sensitivity, and the search for meaning
- Observing everyday beauty and “being an artist” in daily life
- The importance of presence, attention, and wonder
That’s a lot to process in about an hour, but, shazaam! What an hour it was for me to converse with Thomas. I hope you enjoy this episode.
Links
Thomas Windsor
Website: https://thomaswindsorstudio.com/
Film Production Website: https://epiclightmedia.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thomaswindsorstudio/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thomaswindsorstudio/
Painting Therapy channel on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Thomas_Windsor
Epic Light Media channel on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/EpicLightMedia
Other Links
Vincent Laforet Website: https://www.vincentlaforet.com/
Vincent Laforet on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaGfb_6taciyILmlJFxecvA
Philip Bloom Website: https://philipbloom.net/
Philip Bloom on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/philipbloom
Rodney Charters: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0153552/
About the Artful Painter
Website: https://theartfulpainter.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/CarlOlsonArt
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artful.painter/
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