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 we can be ALIVE while we’re alive.
There are all kinds of reasons you may originally decide to paint, which range from the most superficial to the most therapeutic.
And there are all kinds of ideas and opinions you may have about the kind of painting you want to make, hope to make, try to make.
I would like to highlight some of what I notice in the studio. What actually happens.
- Essentially we know we have a voice and we want to let it out of the cage.
- We establish ties with our inner world that are strong and at times life changing.
- We find our enthusiasm and connect to something larger than ourselves.
- We cherish the moments in which we take creative risks.
- We really don’t want to paint like others, even though it’s tempting to think so at times.
- We want to find beauty in our own paintings. Sometimes this is a challenge because we can confuse beauty with “pretty” or “nice”.
- We move energy. Often people remark on how different their energy is after a painting session.
- We are seen. And we see. (coaxed out of hiding).
- We surprise ourselves. Often.
- We come alive.
At the end of the day you may or may not end up with a painting you “want” or “like”.
But you will have jumped into the fray of creativity, off the sidelines and into the flow of your life.
And you will know this in every cell of your body.
This experience of engagement with life is contagious and a bringer of joy–worth getting out of bed for.
And the fact is, there is something else that happens when you keep showing up at the canvas.
If you keep painting, there will be days when you will come out of the studio with a painting you love.
Every time you look at your creation you will feel a little pang of excitement—that this painting came through you!
When I first began painting, I thought it would be neat if someday I could LIKE one of my own paintings enough to hang it up in my own living room.
Eleven years later I find myself immersed in the creative process of intuitive painting and I have my paintings up all over the house. Who knew?