Every day, Wendy Shan sits in front of a blank canvas and paints the same subject.
Since she was eight years old, Wendy has been creating a new iteration of her pug-shih tzu cross, Lulu. She hopes to be able to help people see Lulu the way she does.
"Lulu is definitely the single thing that I've drawn the most throughout my whole artistic ventures, and she will continue to be," she says.
She often draws Lulu with a bit of personality and some sass. They aren't just ordinary dog portraits to her.
"I tried to give her a cheeky expression, or some special accessories that kind of make her seem very humanised," she says.
These are some of Wendy's portraits of her dog Lulu.
Wendy grew up an only child, longing for someone to play with in a home full of adults. So when her parents brought Lulu home, she became more than just a household pet. She was family.
"I felt like it can be quite lonely when there's no-one in the house the same age as you … Lulu kind of filled in that blank space," Wendy says.
Art allows Wendy to 'unleash creativity'
Working on drawings and paintings gave Wendy a stillness she needed. She had a space to distract her from school and childhood anxieties. Most importantly, it was a world she had control over.
If she wanted to draw green clouds, she could. It was up to Wendy to create the fantasy land of her choosing.
"When I'm creating art, I have my own artistic liberties," she says.
"It was being able to unleash this creativity that allowed me to kind of feel a bit more calm, a bit more in control."
Art has always been therapeutic for her because there are no set guidelines or expectations. It doesn't matter if she doesn't create a perfect painting or illustration. She has freedom to fail and try again.
"For example, before, I only did black and white sketches, and then when I moved on to coloured paintings, it was like I accomplished something new," she says.
"That was just for me, and no-one was judging, and no-one was giving me a mark out of 10. It was kind of just knowing that I was improving."
That lack of judgement and the ability to create without fear helped empower Wendy — not only with her art but with finding her voice. She began to get more involved in her local community with council projects and advocacy.
But she says sometimes young people, despite engaging in community events and advocacy, can be drowned out of the conversion.
"That's why I turned to art as a form of advocacy and activism," she says.
Expert says art important for mental health
Robyn Ewing, who specialises in art education at the University of Sydney, says a relationship with the arts is integral to young people's development.
"It is extremely important for our mental health," Professor Ewing says.
"That opportunity to lose yourself in an imaginative world — to play with paint, to move to music, to sing, to, to pretend."
Professor Ewing says research shows that children who have access to rich arts experiences do better emotionally, socially and academically.
She says all children should have access to arts education, not just those who can afford it, because young children often use art to help them understand the things around them.
"The processes of playfulness, creating things, communicating and expressing things in different ways are skills that help us to problem solve and to be flexible about the world," she says.
It doesn't matter to Professor Ewing if people end up becoming painters, dancers or actors, it's more about the skills they've gained that will help them in adulthood.
"Those kinds of art processes that are embedded in all that … help us to live our lives more completely," she says.
Building community through art
Before she became involved in council projects and community activities, art was something solitary for Wendy.
But when she started to work with more experienced artists and hear them talk about how her art made them feel, it all started to change.
"Engaging in those very insightful discussions made me feel art is a connector between different people, rather than simply a form of recreation or support for one person," she says.
Despite not having direct experiences, she grew tired of hearing about the "glass ceiling" for women in the workforce and stories of abusive behaviour.
"I was [feeling] a bit detached and that I was only the victim in this situation, and that there wasn't much for me to do immediately because I was obviously still a student," she says.
So Wendy decided to use her art to send a message. She created an artwork with a pink background to represent the perception that the colour pink is for women, alongside a piece of armour crushing a piece of glass.
"[It] symbolises crushing that glass ceiling," she says.
"So even though I haven't actually been able to make that happen in real life, it's almost like by having this thought and transmitting this vision into my art, that makes me feel empowered."
By creating art in the world, Wendy feels she is contributing to that chain of support for other women who may share similar emotions.
"Therefore establishing a community that can help more people feel empowered, and help them feel that they've risen up," she says.
Wendy is a 2022 winner of the ABC Takeover Melbourne competition.
