The Art of Romanticizing Your Life

I’ve come to think of it as an art — the art of romanticizing your life. And I call it an art because, as every working woman knows, life is rarely dreamy enough to feel like a painting.

Most of the time, I live with anxiety and depression. Yet, paradoxically, I can only paint because I romanticize those parts of me. I light a candle, tidy my studio, dress up, and wait for the light to be right before I start. Sometimes I take my sketchbook to the park or the ocean. I don’t paint those scenes — but by placing myself in them, by imagining their beauty, my mood changes.

I grew up in a house of design and architecture, where surroundings mattered. And I’ve learned something simple but profound: changing your environment can change your state of mind. Once, in the middle of an anxiety attack at the office, I stepped outside into a nearby park. Just a few meters away, the air shifted, and so did I. The pressure eased, as if the world had reminded me that beauty was still here.

Nature has that magic. The sea makes me write endlessly — the breeze, the salt, the rhythm of the waves pull the words out of me. The woods make me draw — the smell of earth, the tangled shapes of branches, the quiet hum of life all around.

And this is exactly what flows into my paintings. Each piece is born from those rare but powerful 1% moments — the ones where I can breathe deeply, feel present in my body, and awaken a sense of inner calm. When someone tells me my art brings them peace, or helps them reflect, I know it’s because they are feeling the echo of those very same moments. The painting becomes a mirror, carrying with it the stillness and connection that inspired it.

Romanticizing isn’t about creating a picture-perfect scene for social media. It’s about creating a life you can inhabit fully. And my paintings are my way of keeping that practice alive — of sharing those fragments of peace, so they can resonate in someone else’s home, and maybe even spark their own moments of presence.

The more we choose to live those 1% awakenings — lighting the candle, watching the sunset, drinking coffee under the trees — the more they expand. One percent becomes five. Five becomes ten. Until, slowly, your life feels like it has a thread of magic running through it.

Romanticizing is not escaping. It’s returning. Returning to yourself. And through painting, I return again and again.

Let’s Create the 1% Together ✨

What’s one small way you could romanticize your day today? Take a moment — a candle, a walk, a cup of coffee in your favorite corner. Start with the tiniest thing. And if you feel like sharing, leave a comment below. Your 1% could inspire someone else’s.