The art of optimism

SALT LAKE CITY — Political turmoil, a warming planet, an evaporating lake, an uncontrollable AI. With so much to worry about, artist Trevor Dahl is doing what he can to spread positive vibrations around Salt Lake.

He calls his art "good happy stuff." He makes what often look like doodles — his brand of cheerful characters and personal iconography on paper, canvas and walls.

"Good happy stuff is a whimsical optimistic look at life," he says.

Dahl says a few years ago he was not so cheerful.

"Yeah, I was just without a motor. I had no self-confidence," he said.

Then, he says, he envisioned a smiley face and decided to smile even if he didn't feel like it. To fake it till he made it.

"And then I learned in therapy some ways to do that and to build up my self-confidence myself and to do like affirmations changing the negative self-talk patterns," he said.

His "good happy stuff" often begins with doodling.

"(It's) like taking that leap of faith. And jumping off the diving board, I like to start moving my hand without an idea and try to let the unconscious flow," he says.

"It's sort of where all my ideas come from. I'll find all sorts of new characters and weird things that happen as I just sort of embrace what's happening and see where the drawing wants to go," he says.

He says he doesn't try to ignore reality.

"I think to be optimistic about the world, you can't just pretend everything's good. That's not what that means. … I think you have to acknowledge the bad things in the world. Looking at the world as a full picture, but choosing to look at the silver lining."

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