by Julie Claire
Why do we paint? I mean, what is really getting us to the blank page? Instinctually I believe we sense that painting could change us somehow. We sense that we could let loose, we could be bolder than we often feel. But our ego and...
by Julie Claire
(painting by workshop participant 2019) I’ve heard it said that the comparison part of our brain is the last part of the obscuring mind to go. And what suffering those insidious shoulds and criticisms bring, even as they disguise themselves as ambition and self...
by Julie Claire
I’ve been changing. I bet you have been too. Do you remember last November? Wow… Across the board, personally and collectively i feel like we are all making difficult decisions and finding ways to feel good in our own skin. For me this...
by Julie Claire
Finding your energy, where it is versus where you think it should be, is crucial for unlocking your joy and experiencing moments of creative freedom. It can be so subtle and yet so easy to mistake frustration or discouragement for an indicator of what is actually...
by Julie Claire
So often as a culture we are striving, figuring, earning, achieving, performing and our hearts run dry. We can be a little dead, still breathing-but essentially dead–don’t you think? This is one reason why I paint. This is why I help others paint, create, live—so that...
by Julie Claire
Beginners Mind is a great place to be. Beginner’s Mind refers to having an attitude of openness, eagerness, and lack of preconceptions. In the studio I am always asking for people to have a beginner’s mind when approaching the painting...
by Julie Claire
Recently I was talking with a woman who was struggling to be both self-compassionate and accountable to her intentions. She didn’t feel like she could have both. And it got me thinking:–How common this is for so many of us who have something we want to do in life and...
by Julie Claire
Regular art classes never worked for me. I don’t bloom in instructional settings. It was when I first experienced painting in a sacred context, in a place of personal intimacy and depth that I opened up and found my inner painter alive and well. Actually, I was...
by Julie Claire
I will never forget this one painting experience: early on, perhaps my 4th or 5th painting ever, painting with a small women’s group in my studio; I reached a point in my painting where I felt ALMOST done. But there was something still to do. I could feel...
by Julie Claire
There are these creative openings that happen for you while you paint intuitively. You can’t plan them or predict them but they happen. Sometimes it’s because you change paint colors, or you find your playful self momentarily, sometimes it’s because of a new tool—like...
