Sketchual Healing is more than a website for coloring pages. It has changed how I view artistry and myself.
Intro → The Original Intention → Digital Art Era → My Art Quality Improved → Invisible Illness Taught Me Something About Business → Artistic Self-Care → Outro
The moment I decided to try drawing line art again, with a history of drawing zentangles, I didn’t expect to become this engrossed in the art. Honestly, I always believed I was terrible at it.
The moment I decided to share the things I drew was the moment I started to believe people when they complimented my drawings.
What do you mean? It looks really well drawn?! I see all of my mistakes…
Then my partner said something that really struck home about artistry as a whole:
Van Gogh didn’t think he was any good, but look at his work now. It is worth millions! I think all artists have the same view of their work. They never believe it is really that good.
I have strangers and friends telling me how much they enjoy my floral doodles and mandalas. That means a lot to me. It also made me think more deeply about what artistry really means.
The Original Intention Of Sketchual Healing
Intro → The Original Intention → Digital Art Era → My Art Quality Improved → Invisible Illness Taught Me Something About Business → Artistic Self-Care → Outro
My intention was mindfulness. Drawing is peaceful, while crochet helps me process thoughts.
I needed to reduce stress, so I needed to process less and empty my mind with intentional focus on drawing my lines more. It did that, too. It was perfect.
Then I decided to share my work with the world.
I suddenly learned that people liked my drawings. I was getting compliments. I was grateful for the mindful self-care that came from making my work, so I started thinking about how it could help others through mindful coloring practice.
That is where scanning/posting started.
However, my intent to support my mental health needs really just turned on its head. I’m always looking to promote positive mental health for others, so it simply came together.
Helping others is another form of self-care for me. It feels good to see others succeed using skills I’ve learned over the last 13 years. This became another medium that allowed me to do that, too!
The Discovery Of The Digital Art Era
Intro → The Original Intention → Digital Art Era → My Art Quality Improved → Invisible Illness Taught Me Something About Business → Artistic Self-Care → Outro
I have a Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra. It is the phone of choice for Android-loving artists. It integrates with PENUP and comes with a built-in stylus.
Scanning in work wasn’t great. The quality was sketchy because it is, well, a physical sketch turned digital.
So, I fell in love with digital sketching!
No, really. I suddenly realized it was easier, and I could clean it up better for coloring.
I decided I wanted a tablet for my art. However, it wasn’t something I planned to run out and buy. I just did some research, talked to people, and thought about it.
I was offered a tablet, but I learned that it wasn’t the best setup for sketching. The tablet was likely to lag with older hardware. It was also going to cost me $100 used. Not wanting to pay a fortune, I looked at the Galaxy Tablet S10 Lite. The one I was going to buy was also a lite, which is why I wondered about new options.
This option doubled the RAM. I also had zero-interest financing available as an option, making the cost of my tablet under $20 per month. A total of $350 with a free case. I also saved another $25 by applying my reward points.
It felt like this was the better option, and I ultimately decided to go with it.
I highly recommend it as an art tablet, by the way. I only use it for art, but I have no lag, and it takes a micro SD card up to 2 TB. All my work is saved to a micro SD, leaving internal memory for necessary apps.
My Art Quality Improved
Intro → The Original Intention → Digital Art Era → My Art Quality Improved → Invisible Illness Taught Me Something About Business → Artistic Self-Care → Outro
When I started drawing on my new tablet (I received it on Friday), I was very impressed. My lines look so much cleaner! The larger screen made corrections easier.
Both coloring pages posted on Sketchual Healing on Sunday were drawn digitally. The mandala was mostly created on my phone. The floral doodle was made solely on my tablet.
It is almost like my art received a glow-up.
Sunday, over breakfast, my boyfriend and I talked about my art. I told him that I wanted to look into turning them into stickers. I thought people would genuinely enjoy the option to buy them as stickers, too. It would also help support the upkeep of my webhosting, etc.
We talked about various ways I could turn my art into products for people. I did a lot of research before choosing Printful (affiliate link). I saw the option to create a store using their product print-on-demand service, and found that they are a quality option for what I needed.
Now I can offer sticker versions of my work, while still offering a free printable. It helps me, and gives people options. You know? It just seemed right.
All I can say is that owning this tablet is going to help me expand my artistic skills, expand how I offer my work to others, and simply make life just a little more enjoyable.
Invisible Illness Taught Me Something About Business
Intro → The Original Intention → Digital Art Era → My Art Quality Improved → Invisible Illness Taught Me Something About Business → Artistic Self-Care → Outro
The sicker I became, the more I learned about the importance of passive income. This form of art is the perfect example.
My flares are unpredictable. I’m dealing with one right now. Insurance approved my new migraine medication finally, but that is beside the point. Unpredictable illness means unpredictability in business.
As we see with Stitched Business Solutions, getting sick slowed my traditional business ideas to a halt. I leaned into ad revenue because of my illnesses. Ad revenue genuinely pays in pennies, though.
I have made $.29 the last 5 months. Just to give you an idea.
Unlike crochet, where you make one product and you can only sell it once, drawing is repeatable. One drawing can be reprinted in multiple ways. This creates passive income for those days when illness takes the wheel. Using Printful makes it even more passive by handling everything but the drawing.
Until now, I have not had much experience in passive income generation. Learning how to create passive income that works with my illnesses instead of against them? Game changer!
Unfortunately, I don’t foresee getting rich off my endeavors. My illnesses still have a stranglehold on my time. I’m still quite limited. Less time means less art to sell. Less content creation. That is going to hinder my passive income, despite the passive status.
I’m trying to say that I am still disabled and still need disability social security assistance because of it.
Although it does give me purpose. Without my educational goals and my content creation, I would have no reason to get out of bed.
The Multipurpose Power Of Artistic Self-Care
Intro → The Original Intention → Digital Art Era → My Art Quality Improved → Invisible Illness Taught Me Something About Business → Artistic Self-Care → Outro
Let me outline the self-care duplicity of my experience, as much for me as you.
Simply drawing helps by:
- Promoting meditative relaxation.
- Clearing the mind of stress and anxiety.
- Helping me help others by turning them into free coloring pages.
- Helping me build self-confidence.
- Allowing me to discover digital art by creating confidence in myself.
- Allowing me to find community on PENUP with other artists.
- Inspiring me to start Sketchual Healing as a stand-alone website with passive income possibilities.
- Inspiring me to turn my art into stickers, inspired by my own love of relaxation-based imagery and stickers. Another passive income opportunity.
- Motivating me to buy a tablet, compact enough for self-care use on the go.
- Further inspiring my entrepreneurial drive without adding to an already heavy time schedule.
I love how one variation of self-care could turn into 10 different ways it can help me (and others!) feel a little better.
Let’s Wrap This Burrito
Intro → The Original Intention → Digital Art Era → My Art Quality Improved → Invisible Illness Taught Me Something About Business → Artistic Self-Care → Outro
At “Angela J. Shupe: Probably Overthinking This…”, I share my lived experience with invisible and chronic illness to remind fellow wellness warriors they’re not alone. My goal is to turn struggle into strength, offering self-care tips, mental health reflections, and wellness insights that encourage balance and resilience. Every post is part of my journey to heal out loud and help others find comfort in community.
If you find value here, please like, share, and spread the word—together we can make self-care and understanding more visible.
Angela J Shupe: I'm Probably Overthinking This... 
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