Evolution in signing my paintings. Art as therapy.

This video has corrections to the autocaptions for my kiwi accent.
My name is Xanthe Wyse. I chose my name (legal name for nearly a decade).
Corrections to a painting name: The paua shell was called: 'Paua Treasure' (took me ages to make the thumbnails and it didn't update correctly).
This video is a compilation of over 50 of my paintings, most done in the past decade. One painting from 30 years ago, when I was doing adult oil painting with traditional techniques in small group classes. A family member kept that painting. I never signed it. I've never signed a painting with my former name.
My first art sales were actually at a garage scale nearly 20 years ago. People asked: 'Who painted these?' Think I only sold them for under $10 each. Unsigned.
When my mental health was very poor, I painted, as I couldn't do anything else. I made a 'mess', as I couldn't paint 'pretty' yet it felt therapeutic. I didn't want to 'waste a canvas', so I painted on cardboard and spare mdf with old household paints I found in the garage.
I set myself a 'ridiculous goal' of an art exhibition. Community arts grants helped make that happen. I ended up having two solo exhibitions, plus I have taken part in group exhibitions (mostly sculptures from repurposed materials).
I still sign 'xyz' instead of 'X.Wyse' at times, mainly for process pieces.
Lost count of how many paintings I've done. Will easily be hundreds. Several got destroyed as part of the creative and therapeutic process.
Deep down, I didn't sign my art because I didn't think it was worth anything. I did the art exhbitions to prove to myself that my art is 'good enough'.
Recently, I have taken steps to offer my art semiprofessionally. I now specialise with painting in acrylics (usually on canvas).
I still have significant impairment from a mental injury (primary diagnoses post-traumatic stress disorder, PTSD and bipolar disorder).
Sometimes I signed big, sometimes in disguise, sometimes disjointed, sometimes upside down. I've been called a 'mood painter'. Even the art teacher at school commented: 'you always paint something different depending on what mood you're in'.
It's pretty hard to sign art tidy and small. I think it's the most challenging part of my paintings. Now, I am incorporating the signature into the piece, near the end - carefully painted in with other details with a fine brush.
If you're in New Zealand, art grants are available for creative community projects. Apply with your local council. This helped me to start building my art collection and to pay for exhibition costs on a low income.
More about the exhibitions I had:
www.soarpurpose...
My art website with more recent paintings:
www.soarpurpos...
My books (storytelling with insights about diagnoses):
www.soarpurpose...