With the artist known as Paintbrush in My Tea you get to choose what she creates
Let’s think about what makes you happy. For me, it’s writing (no surprise!) and the quiet space to be creative: to play the piano, to sew, or to read. Otters and owls, crosswords and rain, driving swish cars, and the smell of new books all make me happy. And so do the sea and the desert – anywhere you can drink in the sky.
Your happies may well be very different…. Maybe what gives you the warm fuzzies has to do with your family, or sport, or a beautifully bubbly bath at the end of the day. Perhaps it’s a long chat with a good friend, a fiendish game of bridge, or getting that 13th salary!
Either way, Michelle Theodotou can create it – or, at least, make you a long-lasting happy memory through her charming illustrations. Because as an artist, she’s best known for her personalised ‘Things That Make Me Happy’ prints and colouring sheets. And they’re exactly what we all need coming off 2020!
Born in London, and raised in Cyprus during the 90s, Michelle has always loved art. “Besides the brief moment as a child where I decided I wanted to be a backup dancer with no dance skills whatsoever, all I wanted to do in life was make art,” she smiles. “But I never thought I could do it as a career. And I definitely didn’t have the confidence…”
After university Michelle tried “various jobs in all kinds of fields. But I never committed to anything long-term. And I was too scared to follow my art dream; I didn’t believe in my abilities. I began experiencing panic attacks and anxiety, and I never had confidence in myself. I still can’t believe,” she adds shyly, “that you want to interview me!”
But, in 2014, everything changed for Michelle. “My mum died. And my world came crashing down. Not much made sense any more. It took me a long time to realise I had been playing it safe all these years. I was afraid to fail or even try, lacking any confidence in my art and myself, and letting my anxieties get the better of me… But when my mum died, it was something bigger than anything I could have imagined. And it changed me. For the first time in my life I willingly and consistently went to therapy, and slowly started focusing more on my art as a career and what I wanted my artwork to mean.”
Drawing inspiration from her mother, painting for her and from her, Michelle finally felt she was on the right path. “By 2016 I’d quit my job in Brighton, and moved back to Cyprus with my partner where I could feel closer to my mum and be closer to my sister. With a sky-load more vitamin D, I committed full-time to my freelance work. It wasn’t easy,” she adds. “The needing to put myself out there, the vulnerability of it all, and the networking are all a challenge. But the joy is that I get to draw for a living, and hopefully give other people a feeling of joy, comfort, relatability, feel goodness. And possibly laughter – that’s a sparkly bonus!”
“Just like so many others, I had to pay close attention to my mental wellbeing in 2020. Over the years I’ve learned how to better deal with a panic when it comes on, and I also have an awesome partner who is level-headed and knows how to calm me when I feel out of control. So, in 2020, I made sure I was doing more things that make me happy, like dance workouts and cuddling the animals. And that’s how I started drawing happy prints…”
Particularly anxious one day during the lockdown – “I was feeling very unsettled and needed to focus my brain on something to keep the panic waves at bay” – Michelle decided to start drawing random things that made her happy. “I put music on and I drew for hours, and it worked! Then I posted my ‘happies’ illustration on Instagram the next day, and the reactions were so incredibly positive that I decided to start making ‘personalised happies’ colouring sheets for others. Colouring itself can be so therapeutic,” she adds, “and colouring in your own, personalised illustration of what makes you happy is something that I thought might create joy during a difficult time…”
She was right. Michelle’s ‘happies’ really resonated. “The orders for illustrated happy lists were beyond my expectations. And seeing what makes people happy is just so lovely! People can choose to include between 10 and 50 happies in their colouring sheet or print; before now I’ve been asked to come up with illustrations for ‘sexy mysterious trips’, ‘secret lairs’ and ‘Donna Summer’!”
Today, along with the items she sells on her Etsy shop, Michelle’s personalised happy colouring sheets and prints are spreading joy across the island and beyond. “I’ve sold to France and England as well,” she says, “and the Things That Make Me Happy prints have definitely been the most popular of my commissions over the last year.
“Those happy commissions truly saved me in 2020,” she acknowledges. “It feels amazing to create something so positive at a time when, globally, feeling positive is hard, and I can’t express my gratitude enough to everyone who ordered for themselves or their loved ones. It’s not just the income,” she adds. “As an intense overthinker, those happies kept me busy and kept my mind occupied. We all deserve a little more happiness, I think. And acceptance too. Because what makes you happy may be totally different from what makes me happy.”
Michelle has drawn a free ‘Things That Make My Cat Happy’ colouring sheet for the readers of the Cyprus Mail. You can download this at no charge from https://www.paintbrushinmytea.com/colouring-in-sheets
For more information on Michelle’s artwork, visit https://www.paintbrushinmytea.com/, https://www.etsy.com/shop/PaintbrushInMyTea, or the Instagram account @paintbrushinmytea
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