Stress relief in watercolour: This Toronto entrepreneur picked up a paintbrush and found a creative outlet | Canada Voices

Natalia Buia was a Toronto-based journalist disillusioned with a shrinking media industry when she started her boutique public relations agency, Gold Candor, in October, 2023. “No one thinks of ‘stable’ when they think of being an entrepreneur,” she says with a laugh. “But I [thought], maybe I could do this on my own.”

While searching for a hobby to take her mind off the stress of starting her own business, Ms. Buia gravitated to watercolour painting and instantly fell in love. Her home office feels like a snapshot straight out of Pinterest – brightly coloured paintings are mounted on the walls above her desk, a testament to her colourful imagination.

In this series, Reimagining Wealth, we explore the evolving definition of wealth in today’s world. Here, we speak with Ms. Buia about her self-employment journey and her creative outlet through paint.

Tell me a little bit about your career leading up to starting your own company. What made you pursue entrepreneurship?

I studied journalism at Humber College in Toronto and I worked at a lot of great companies in the Canadian media landscape. I really enjoyed my time as a journalist, but it’s a lot different than it was a couple of years ago. Newsrooms are changing, they’re shrinking. I was frustrated with how the industry was evolving for the worse and I figured PR is a great transition from journalism. Prior to Gold Candor, I was at another PR company, but I thought, I’m better suited to do it on my own rather than have a boss I don’t get along with.

What has your experience been like running your business?

I announced Gold Candor publicly in October 2023, on National Publicist Day. A lot of my clients came from word of mouth, from friends recommending me. I spent a lot of time learning about entrepreneurship, like doing my taxes and how to invoice people. This was around [the time] I had an amicable divorce, and I took some of those financial gains to put towards my business.

I was fortunate with how the timing worked out, because you need some sort of financial cushion, you need something to fall back on. I’m not embarrassed to admit I’m going through a slow period right now when I’m not making as much income, but you have to be hopeful. I try to remind myself that I’m down now, but I won’t be down forever.

You mentioned that watercolour painting helps when you feel low or anxious. What has your artistic journey been like?

I wanted to step outside my comfort zone and see if I like it. I came across an artist named Julia Dault who created her own art space called Hot Pizza Studio, located in the Junction neighbourhood in Toronto. I went for a watercolour painting class she put on late last year and had a lot of fun, because I’m always looking for new hobbies. I work from home and I feel like I need to do something other than work on my computer or sit on my couch and watch TV.

After my first class at Hot Pizza Studio, I began following a bunch of TikTokers and people on Instagram who do watercolour painting, and now my feed is all art stuff. I made it a goal going into 2025 that this is going to be my ‘thing.’

I find that painting with watercolours is very soothing for me and it calms me down. When I’m painting, my brain stops spinning. I don’t really think about anything; I don’t think about money or work stress.

I was in a pretty dark place last year and I was chatting with my girlfriends, who are very crafty people. It’s nice to have a support system of your closest friends who motivate and encourage you. They say, keep up with the painting.

How much time do you put aside to paint? Is it something you do every day?

I don’t necessarily paint every day, but I think about it every day. Like any hobby, it is a bit expensive. You have to get your paints and brushes, and watercolour paper is not cheap. But while I am spending money on this newfound hobby, it’s helping me save a bit of money too because I’m not going out.

What do you enjoy painting the most?

Colours brighten my day. They enhance my mood. I think if I were just painting in dark colours or black and white, I wouldn’t love it so much. What I really like about watercolour is that it’s so easy to mix different colours together, and you could come up with a hundred different shades of red or blue. For me, the brighter, the better.

I make these little greeting cards – I have to work on my calligraphy, though. I love to do landscapes, sunsets, mountains, beaches, things like that. It can be very healing, that’s why I paint a lot of nature. I really do think it’s doing wonders for my mental health.