Thomas Windsor - From Heart to Brush

Doom scrolling on YouTube may usually be a waste of time but occasionally you stumble across a real, hidden gem. That happened to me a few weeks ago. I like watching YouTube videos about art and art history (and, truthfully, many other subjects). You know the way YouTube works - it takes your watch history and tries to predict other videos you might want to watch. YouTube *wants* you to keep watching videos - forever would be ideal for them. This was the case with my guest in this episode of *The Artful Painter*. YouTube suggested to me a video on a channel called *Painting Therapy*, by artist and cinematographer **Thomas Windsor**. That expression - painting therapy - hooked me. I clicked, and I watched, and I watched, and I watched. YouTube’s algorithm was happy, and I was enthralled by what I saw and heard as Thomas painted on camera. The binge has started and I kept watching and listening to Thomas. At one point, I left one of his videos playing as I worked on a large painting. I could not see what he was doing so I just listened to him talking in the background. I usually find it highly distracting to paint with words sounding off in the background. The words through me off so it’s something I rarely ever do. I can’t listen to podcasts while I paint, nor can I listen to songs with vocals. It’s weird I know - but that’s just me. But Thomas was an exception to the rule. After this experience, I knew I had to have Thomas Windsor on the podcast. I reached out to him and he graciously accepted. So, I’m happy to share with you our conversation in this edition of The Artful Painter. Wow! I learned a lot about Thomas in this conversation. Turns out, his day job is running a film production company. He is a cinematographer and produces commercial videos. Painting is a side-calling, but a very important one to Thomas. To whet your appetite, here are a few things we talk about: - Thomas Windsor’s background in filmmaking and commercial production - Growing up in a strict household with limited media exposure - Committing to “a painting a week” - Why Thomas intentionally avoided formal art training - Painting as self-education and self-discovery - The connection between filmmaking and painting - Why painting feels more personal and vulnerable than filmmaking - The difference between technical perfection and emotional authenticity - The influence of Vincent van Gogh on Thomas’s thinking about art and emotion - Creativity as a direct emotional expression rather than a technical exercise - The dangers of overthinking and perfectionism - “Painting Therapy” and art as emotional regulation - Depression, sensitivity, and the search for meaning - Observing everyday beauty and “being an artist” in daily life - The importance of presence, attention, and wonder That’s a lot to process in about an hour, but, shazaam! What an hour it was for me to converse with Thomas. I hope you enjoy this episode. ### Links **Thomas Windsor** Website: https://thomaswindsorstudio.com/ Film Production Website: https://epiclightmedia.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thomaswindsorstudio/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thomaswindsorstudio/ Painting Therapy channel on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Thomas\_Windsor Epic Light Media channel on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/EpicLightMedia **Other Links** Vincent Laforet Website: https://www.vincentlaforet.com/ Vincent Laforet on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaGfb\_6taciyILmlJFxecvA Philip Bloom Website: https://philipbloom.net/ Philip Bloom on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/philipbloom Rodney Charters: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0153552/ **About the Artful Painter** Website: https://theartfulpainter.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/CarlOlsonArt Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artful.painter/ *This page may contain affiliate links from which I earn a small commission. When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.*