Beyond “Drawing Well”: Discovering the Joy of Expression Through Art Training

Hello! I’m Nishikado from GP.

At GP, we have many opportunities to develop not only our business skills, but also the creativity, sensitivity, and cultural awareness that are essential when creating events and entertainment experiences.

As part of this initiative, our new graduate members recently took part in an art training retreat called “Art Camp wow.” The venue was TOWNHALL, an event space located inside the GP office. Usually used for events and seminars, on this particular day, the space was transformed into a special creative environment filled with canvases, paints, and everything we needed to immerse ourselves in art.

This training was actually held last year as well, and ever since reading our senior members’ report, I had been looking forward to experiencing it myself. This year’s program was slightly different from the previous one, so let me take you through what we experienced!

Starting by Connecting with Our Own Senses

We began with self-introductions, putting into words how we were feeling at that moment, and meditation.

Our minds are often filled with work, daily responsibilities, and everything we need to get done. So before creating anything, we started by turning our attention inward and becoming more aware of our own thoughts and senses.

Next came an exercise in which we were simply asked to paint freely, without being given a theme.

Afterward, we shared our paintings within our groups and discussed questions such as, “What kind of impression does this painting give you?” and “What kind of person do you imagine the artist to be?”

It almost felt like we were playing fortune-tellers—and strangely enough, some of the observations were surprisingly accurate.

Even though the lines and colors had been chosen almost instinctively, people began saying things like, “This feels like the kind of person you are,” or “It seems like you really value this.”

Watching other people discover elements of my personality through my painting was a completely new experience. It felt almost like introducing myself in an entirely different way—through art.

How Other Perspectives Transform a Work of Art

For our next exercise, each person shared a story based on the theme, “A choice I’m glad I made in my life.”

After listening, the other members selected phrase cards that they felt matched their impression of that person and gave them to the speaker.

Using the phrases they received as inspiration, each person then created another painting.

Once the works were finished, we

them with other participants and began adding to one another’s art.

Someone might introduce colors we would never have chosen ourselves. New lines appeared. In some cases, different paintings were even layered together.

It was fascinating to watch each work gradually transform as expressions and ideas we could never have imagined on our own were added to it.

Once we had finished painting, it was time to unveil and name our creations.

Everyone came up with titles for everyone else’s artwork—and this turned out to be another surprisingly fun part of the experience.

Sharing the first words and images that came to mind when looking at each painting felt almost like being given a small glimpse inside everyone’s imagination.

Experiencing Art Through Wine

At the social gathering after the training session, we also had the opportunity to experience a wine tasting.

We compared several different wines and selected the one that we felt best matched the image or atmosphere of our own artwork, creating a unique pairing between the two.

Moving back and forth between taste and sight gave us a completely new way to look at our creations. It was a refreshing experience that allowed us to enjoy art right through to the very end of the day.

Conclusion

What stayed with me most from this training was the realization that there is no need to draw something “correctly.”

Emotions and images in our minds, sensations that are difficult to put into words—we can express them through colors, lines, and shapes.

Rather than trying to reproduce something accurately, we were simply encouraged to bring the vague and undefined things inside us out into the world.

That freedom was far more enjoyable than I had expected, and it reminded me just how much fun it can be to create art.

In our everyday work, we naturally tend to look for answers and results. That is exactly why having the opportunity to engage with a form of expression that has no single correct answer—and to create something while incorporating the perspectives of others—was such a valuable experience.

Through art, it was a day that reminded me once again of the joy of creating something.