Murals of Hope: The Healing Power of Art

Many of us turn to art for healing, and Trysen Kaneshige is no exception. After a devastating concussion from playing soccer in high school, he chose to paint a mural for his senior project—a decision that marked the beginning of his artistic journey. Today, he continues to inspire through his work, with art that carries messages of hope and resilience, shaped by his personal experiences of navigating brain injury and recovery.

MUDRA LOVE: What story are you trying to tell with your art? Do you usually have a message you are trying to convey?

TRYSEN KANESHIGE: The story I am trying to tell with my art is to keep going and pushing beyond your comfort zone to get better at your craft. I do positive affirmations in my artwork to help keep inspired.

ML: How important is it that the audience retrieves and understands your message?

TK: I'd like the audience to understand my message because it's about being resilient taking care of your mental health.

ML: What motivates you to create? Has your motivation changed over the years?

TK: I use painting as a therapy and for healing. Before my motivation was to inspire, but now it's for healing.

ML: What is one word you would use to describe your creative process?

TK: Healing.

ML: How important is establishing structure around your artmaking? 

TK: Structure helps to establish trust in the process. In the beginning, it may not look like what you have intended, but if you learn to trust the process with the support of having some sort of structure, it starts to shape into your vision.

ML: Do you have a clear vision outlined in the beginning before you start your projects?

TK: Most of the time I have a clear vision, but I’ve learned that as you go deeper into a project, things can change, and it’s okay for you to adapt as you learn more and grow.

ML: Does that vision ever change or lead you down a different path? If so, how do you reconcile your vision with new insights and inspiration?

TK: Sometimes the vision changes and leads down a different path, but going back to the original idea, and being able to adapt with new insights and inspiration is also a possibility to grow as an artist.

ML: What’s one piece of advice you would give to aspiring artists?

TK: Nothing happens overnight. Consistency and building a practice is how you grow faster as an artist rather than waiting for inspiration to come to you. Turning your craft into a form of meditation or therapy is how you can get good really fast as well.

ML: What are you currently working on? What are you excited about? What’s next for you?

TK: Currently I'm working on a couple commissioned murals on Kaua’i, as well as some logo and shirt designs for a couple of local businesses. I'm excited to island hop and paint murals and hoping to travel to mainland or different countries to paint in the future.