Life can be an utter pain in the arse. Be it health, personal, emotional, spiritual, financial, political etc etc, it can really grind you down and screw you up! I think most of us know this ;)

  We all have different ways of dealing with the crap life throws at us, (and sometimes, it's our own silly selves throwing the crap!)
Turn on some music...go fishing...do silly stuff...whatever, we all try and have ways to chill out. Art is a good way of dealing with life's ups n' downs: not only can it be relaxing, it's both stimulating (learning and puzzling things out), and importantly, creative.
Being passive, like listening to music, or sitting by a beach is a great way to unwind, but, we also like and need to do things.

  Working for a living doesn't often give a great deal of personal satisfaction at making something right, something you care for. It's one of those pleasures that's not perhaps obvious, but we need it none the less: to do things we care about, to have pride in.

Doing something positive is better than sitting around with your thumb up your arse, which is no fun anyway ;) Instead, if you keep your mind busy, and the result is something you can take pride in, it's a lot better for you in many ways, than doing the same-old, same-old day-after-day.

  I've got M.E., also known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, or several other stupid names, what the names don't tell you is how bloody horrible it is. Physically and mentally you get ground down. Pain is never an easy thing to deal with, neither is sickness, nor mental problems, so when you get all three at the same time...ugh.

I usually fight back against an illness, or meditate, but they don't work on this son-of-a-b*tch illness: fighting = stress (stress makes you worse), and you cannot relax, so you cannot meditate. And in case anyone suggests it, no, you cannot do exercise to relieve "depression" for this illness, as exercise will make you severely worse, even kill you, that's one of the peculiarities of it...try doing exercise when you have the 'Flu and see what happens...*same thing* (and it is not a mental illness, it is not depression, though it often causes depression 'cause it's that damned bad, and damages your nervous system).

You still need to move, walk etc to keep your body "ticking over" at least, if you are able, or you can wind up even worse, but strenous exercises = big no no with M.E.

  So, one of the few things I've got left is art. Art is relaxing, I can do it without taxing myself too much, other illnesses would perhaps allow different art forms, but sitting at a keyboard is about a smuch as I can often do, so digital art it is, on a computer.

  You can be stuck in front of a computer by bad luck and ill health, but...you can sail across the stars in your imagination...imagine days when you were on the beach...the look of a first lover's face...these and other things can inspire and keep hope and life alive. From dreams, memories, pictures or whatever, you can have ideas that you'd like to create.

  But, how to create them? Everyone can find favourite forms of art: oil & canvas, hands and clay, acrylic and paper etc. I'll list most of the main ones and a few a lot of folk aren't aware of, or foolishly sneer at from pride. Always remember: there is *NO* "best" art form or medium, there is only what *you care for*, nothing else is important in that respect:  It's just what you like that counts.
Art is not a "pecker contest" over who's got the most expensive paint, brushes or whatever, that's strictly for idiots ;)

  I preffer digital art, I'll explain why, later on.

• Oil Painting, this is a classical tradition and produces very vibrant, rich paintings. However, it's expensive (some of the pigments are very costly as they use rare materials), smelly (turpentine and oils stink, though that can be reduced to an extent using special alternative materials) and requires plenty of room to let the paintings dry safely (takes weeks for an oil painting to dry properly, sometimes months).
  
  
• Sculpting, alas, this one is very difficult for most folk, as it requires a degree of manual strength (for larger pieces or stone carving), plenty of space, and very bulky blocks of stone or clay etc. However, most arts made with the hands are very enjoyable to do, almost like exercise.
  
  
• Pottery & ceramics, this often requires a kiln to fire your work, which is tricky to get or arrange. But again, it's physically pleasing to do and your work can be useable (plates, cups etc).
  
  
• Acrylic Painting, cheaper than oils and not very smelly, still a bit expensive for some of the paints. Note that many folk paint in acrylics and oil on hardboard or other surfaces you wouldn't expect, that can be cheaper than canvas! Acrylics dry very fast, and while that means you don't have worries about leaving them to dry, they can dry so fast it's harder to mix and blend the paint on the canvas.
  
  
• Miniature Painting, there's quite a large hobby based around painting miniature soldiers and fantasy figures. Anyone who thinks it's not art obviously hasn't seen some of it! Very amazing pieces of work, especially for such small objects. However, the small size, detail etc can be a strain on the eyes and patience.

One of my miniatures, it's about an inch high!

• Textile crafts, there's a whole variety from knitting, leatherwork to lace making. Many do require good manual dexterity due to the intricacy of the work. But, you can wear your own work, very useful! ;)
  
  
• Woodworking, from cabinet making, to woodturning on a lathe, to carving. Wodoworking is messy and requires a workshop or room, but the results are usually very practical, from cabinets to fruit bowls.
  
  
• Glass art, mostly glass blowing and stained glass. Glassblowing is mostly not something you'd do in the house! It really requires an outhouse for it, or workshop, where as making stained glass can be done without lead, using paints on normal glass if you wish. Both can create fantastically beautiful items.
  
  
• Toy making, some folk like making fabric or wooden toys, or recreating ones of times past.
  
  
• Model Making, similar to miniture painting, ah, I loved making Airfix kits of aeroplanes and ships! ;) Some dioramas (scenes) made from these models are amazing.
  
  
• Lapidary, that's the art of polishing semi-precious stones, like quartz you may find on a beach.
  

That's just a few, so "art" is a lot more than just painting & pottery! ;)