A Drishti Painting Focus: I Am Good

*I Am Good* by Deb Chaney, 4’ x 5’ x 1.5” mixed media on canvas, Drishti Series 2024. Please contact the artist for purchase inquiries info@debchaney.com

The third large painting in my Drishti Paintings series I’d like to focus on in detail is called I Am Good. This original abstract represents the frequency of well-being for the 6th chakra and is part of this series of 7 paintings that each represent an energy centre.

This exhibit is currently on display at Amelia Douglas Gallery at Douglas College in New Westminster until January 13th, 2025.

Back to the beginning to get to the end

I’ve chosen this painting as my final feature because it represents the mind and thinking and is one of the most important factors in determining our well-being. So, let’s go back and look at this exhibit as though I’m beginning with the end in mind.

Feature article in the Fall 2024 issue of *What Women Create* Magazine.

The power in making a decision

Like many people, I’ve navigated my own journey experiencing mental illness. I shared this story in a feature in the Fall 2024 issue of What Women Create magazine. (Download a PDF of the complete article to read the full story.)

In the article, I share my story of going through suicidal ideation. I self harmed. I suffered from anxiety. I lost custody of my daughter for several years and I was in a very dark, bad, unhealthy mindplace.

If there had to be one determining factor in my mental health healing journey, I feel that the pivotal point was when I made a decision. That was it. I made a decision in my mind to get well. And I had such great inspiration because I really wanted to get my daughter back, especially before she was a teenager.

My *Journal of Positive Aspects* on display in Amelia douglas Gallery.

The power of the written word

Resolute in my decision to get well, there were numerous approaches to healing and a variety of other things that I pursued on my journey. Too many to mention here. But out of all of the healers and supplements, people and massages, and modalities, books, and teachings, if I had to choose just one, it would be the act of meditation.

In terms of connecting to source, connecting to God, meditation was the most effective means of healing. I spoke about meditation in my last Drishti post.

A second highly impactful thing I did for my well-being during the 3 years I was working on The Drishti Paintings series was intentional journal writing. And this is what I’d like to focus on here. If you are looking to shift into and align with your well-being in your mind, this can be a very powerful tool. .

When you visit the exhibit you can see a thick blue book–around 500 pages–in one of the glass cases. On the cover of the book–which is open to take a peek at some of my journaling–are the words My Journal of Positive Aspects.

I followed this practice of journaling over the span of 3 years while working on this series, and it consists of 5 specific areas of my life plus a 6th more general component. I’d like to share them here in case you decide to do this, in the hope that this can support you for aligning with your mental well-being as it has for me.

A general appreciation of things

Let’s start with the 6th point, which takes a general view. I started journal writing at 19, after receiving a copy of The Artist’s Way. The book inspired me to write morning pages, which is such a wonderful practice. It’s a free flow exercise in which you write whatever comes to mind–what you’re happy about, what you’re angry about, or what’s going on in your life. It’s truly beautiful.

However, keeping a journal of positive aspects is a more focused and curated journaling experience. It specifically helps us cultivate well-being in our mind, so the 6th point is to look at your life in general and write about what is good at that moment.

What is right here? What am I feeling good about? What can I appreciate?

For example, I will write down that I’m so grateful to have a home. I have electricity. (Which I truly feel after our island’s 5-day power outage last week.) So I appreciate the warmth in my home. And the warmth of my friendships. There’s food in the fridge and I’m in good physical health. These general things are a positive focus that I write in my journal of positive aspects.

While I was working on the *I Am Good* painting in this series, I would think about what is good here and be in a mind space of positive appreciation while in the creative process.

5 key areas of focus

The other 5 areas of focus are key aspects of our lives, and all it takes is a brief journal focus on each. It could simply be 3 little points or you could write more if you're inspired about these areas of your life.

When you focus on what's good in these key areas, you are realigning the energy. This is something I discussed in my first Drishti Painting Focus post about I Am Safe. There is a 17 second rule when you focus on something, you change the vibrational frequency, which is in the title of this exhibit–Capturing the Vibrational Frequency of My Well-being.

This is an actual activity you can do, realigning your vibrational frequency, so I’d like to go through those 5 areas that I would journal.

Focusing on home

Starting with home, we can focus on things we appreciate. I'm really blessed to live in the Gulf Islands and I'm surrounded by trees and the air is so fresh and I live near the ocean. It’s really quiet and peaceful.

I have two beautiful, fluffy, gorgeous cats, Henry and Ginger.

The island where I live is called the Island of the Arts, and I have this incredible support network and community among the artists. These are some things that I really appreciate, so I would journal these things in this book of positive aspects.

Focusing on career

If I was writing in this area right today, I would appreciate that I have this solo exhibit at Amelia Douglas Gallery for the past 2 months. Not only that, I had so much support in creating this work. My friend Ezra came by the studio and helped me pack up the art. And Janet Tilly and Jennifer Rocco from the arts department of Douglas College, have been there for me this whole time, from the grant writing process at the start of this journey, to organizing the catering for the opening reception, to helping me set up the glass cases and with the whole installation.

I've never experienced this level of support in my career and I really want to focus on that because the rule of thumb here is that whatever you focus on, you get more of. When you write something down it becomes more grounded in your life.

Focusing on relationships

For me personally, my relationship with my inner being is really important. The relationship to my inner being, to source, to God, is something I'm so grateful for.

I believe that everything comes through God, and that my well-being is from God, and I'm grateful for this relationship through meditation.

I also have a really beautiful circle of incredible women around me, so I would also focus on and write about them. One friend is an incredible cook and often has me over for dinner. Another friend always rallies behind me with my dreams and really believes in me. I have this extraordinary support person who’s been helping me for a number of years, and I feel I can count on him as he supports me at such an incredible level.

When I write these things in my journal, I feel so good and I'm focusing on what's good here and what's right. I focus on what I’m appreciating in this area of relationships.

I Am Good took weeks and weeks to create and many layers before its final reveal, during this time, I got to keep coming back to positive foci in my life.

Focusing on money

This can be a really sticky area for some people, especially for artists. But the stickier and more challenging the area is to find positive focuses, the more general we want to go.

We might get to say that I'm so grateful for all the money flowing through my life and that I always have what I need. I always have enough, and I'm grateful for the money in my bank account, and I'm grateful for selling 2 paintings last month. I'm grateful for when my artwork has been rented for use in TV and film. That's amazing.

I'm grateful for people who visit my Saatchi Online Gallery and buy reproductions of my art and that I make money from licensing my images. It's wonderful when I get that email saying they’ve just sold X number of these prints and they’ll be sending me this much money.

Therefore I focus on what I can appreciate with regards to money, helping me get in that mindspace of finding that good vibration.

Focusing on my body

Something I love to do is play guitar and sing, so I am grateful that I have the coordination and that my body allows me to do that.

I also have really strong, healthy, thick hair. It still has its natural colour and I'm really grateful about that. I also love my skin and for some reason I love my hands. I don't know why.

In this section we just focus on what we love about ourselves. If we can't go that far we think about what we like about ourselves. If we still can't like anything–and I get it, it can be hard sometimes–then we focus on what we can appreciate. It could be something as simple as saying “Hey, we didn't have to work for this. We were born and got this body for free.” Thank you God for this body.

Two women celebrating friendship, art and our well-being!

Finding your frequency

This mantra of I Am Good is for us to remember the truth in this, and i what this large abstract painting is all about. Behind this painting is a very important journal, My Book of Positive Aspects. I kept this journal for 3 years in preparation for The Drishti Paintings as a way to tune my frequency.

While not as diligently as before, I still keep a journal. It's an amazing exercise that I encourage you to practice in support of cultivating the frequency of your own well-being.

Show Information

The Drishti Experience – Capturing the Frequency of My Well-Being

Deb Chaney, Solo Exhibit, Amelia Douglas Gallery

November 7, 2025 – January 13, 2025

Seven large scale mixed media abstract paintings by Deb Chaney. Her latest work is inspired by her desire to experience and visually express the frequency of her well-being. This series sheds light on the link between healing mental illness and developing spiritual consciousness.

Location

Amelia Douglas Gallery
Fourth Floor North, Douglas College
700 Royal Avenue, New Westminster, BC V3M 5Z5

Gallery Hours
Monday–Friday: 10:00 AM–7:30 PM
Saturday: 11:00 AM–4:00 PM
Sunday: Closed
Gallery Website

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