“When you listen to music, you don't try to hold on to the notes - you let them wash over you. Let your eyes wander over the painting the way the notes of a symphony wash over your soul. Let your eyes play with the painting, slipping around corners, following the twirls, twists and turns, dipping in and out of the surface. Let your eyes dance around the piece. Rather than trying to figure out what the painting looks like, just allow yourself to be taken in by the painting. See what emotions, sensations or memories emerge. Let your eyes relax and travel around the piece without expectation. Examine the colours, forms, materials, surface, and how they interact with each other. Take your time. Let the painting "speak" to you”. - Art-is-fun.com
Is Intuitive Painting for me?
I truly believe, with the wholeness of my being, that we are all inherently creative. If upon reading any of these descriptions, you feel a tender yearning, tingling in your body or a resounding ' crikey, that's totally me!', then perhaps it's time to pick up a paintbrush...
- You hold a belief that you are not creative and you feel the calling to challenge that illusion.
Somewhere along the line, someone, maybe a family member, teacher or friend told you that perhaps art isn't for you and that you’d be better off putting your energy elsewhere. That your sibling was the creative one, or that pursuing a creative path in life would leave you destitute and undervalued. ‘No seriously’, you say…”I can only draw a stick figure!” For whatever reason, you have internalized this belief and you now recognise that it is a story that no longer serves you.
- You are a perfectionist. The thought of colouring outside the lines throws you into conniptions. You are curious…what would happen if I gave myself permission to paint outside the lines?
- You know in your bones that you are inherently creative and you are feeling called to explore that, yet the thought of a blank canvas terrifies you. Your yearning is getting louder than your fear.
- Our sociocultural environment worships the rational, logical, conscious mind. You are curious about the more primitive, unconscious, dreaming mind that holds symbols, archetypes and strange surreal impulses that often express themselves through the non-verbal and reside in the body.
- You recognise your intuitive voice or gut feeling and would like to act upon it but struggle with the volume of the ego.
- You are moving through a significant transition in your life and would like a safe and creative way to process it’s unfolding.
- You are a therapist/healer/dancer who is curious about exploring complementary modalities to integrate into your practice.
- Personal growth, self exploration and healing are integral to your life. You may consider yourself to be a spiritual person but not necessarily religious. Perhaps you have a regular centring or spiritual practice such as mindfulness, meditation, walking in nature, gardening, yoga…you get the idea. You see the creative path as a vehicle to connect you with the language of your heart and greater wholeness and would like to be part of a like-minded creative community that share similar values.
- You’ve heard of neuroplasticity; the brain’s ability to create new neural pathways in response to stimulus in the environment. This excites you. You consider yourself predominantly left brained (rational, verbal, logical) yet sense that there are different ways of knowing that are more intuitive, non-verbal and creative. You want to explore a practice that integrates right/left brain, masculine/feminine, work/play or mind, body, heart and soul with a view to creating new ways of being in the world.
- You are a practicing or emerging artist who is well established in your field. Yet you feel stagnant and uninspired. Old habits are growing stale and you are feeling the call to shake things up. If you look closely, you may feel terrified of letting go or what this process may reveal!
- You are a teacher, counsellor, life coach, health practitioner or business professional looking to expand your creative horizons with some professional development. You're looking for something edgy, challenging and fun.
- You just want to feel free. Free of responsibility, adulthood, parenthood, inhibitions, less than serving thoughts, judgment…you name it. You simply want to have the opportunity to get messy, play and back in the flow of life. A space where your needs come first.
- Your internal dialogue is giving you a hard time. It’s been commander of your headquarters for too long. It’s time to gently tell it to take a back seat and practice a more heart-centred, self-loving awareness.
- Somehow wholeheART has found you and your body has vibrated with a resounding ‘YES!’. You are in the right place.