process painting or improv painting

 

 

so fun!  I just took a class from an amazing teacher last week.  I had taken classes from her before years ago but she hadn’t offered any classes for a while, so when she did, I jumped at the opportunity.  It’s a style of painting called “improv painting” or “process painting” which allows you to just pick a color and paint without planning ahead what you want to do–no judgment, just paint.  I loved when the teacher said that we were supposed to focus on where our paintbrush touched the paper because that was where the creative process was and when you think you’re done with a painting you ask yourself, if I had one more stroke to do on this painting what would I do and where would I put it and then do it and you don’t stop painting you just keep putting paint on–no thinking or pondering.  It’s based on a book called “Life, Paint, and Passion:  Reclaiming the Magic of Spontaneous Expression” by Michele Cassou and Stewart Cubley.  The first and most colorful painting I spent almost all of the time on and the second painting I spent what time I had left.  Fun, colorful, whimsical!!

Blessings***

every child is an artist

I did this piece for homework for a calligraphy class where we were practicing doing monoline uncials.  I really like my teacher, but was disheartened when he –can I say hated? it, maybe that’s too strong.  *Really* did not like it.  Especially the large “E.”  I can see his point, but still.  Sigh…and I actually practiced every day– a few times every day– for the entire week.  Sort of ironic that the quote’s supposed to be inspiring us to keep that artistic side of us going as we get older and I hate to admit it but I considered for a second maybe I should just stop since I’m not getting any better.  But I like the piece I did, sure I need more practice (forever! apparently–my hand just seems to have a mind of its own, like when I’m drawing a straight line or tracing over penciled in letters and and my hand will just jolt out some weird direction).  I see some of my mistakes in the lettering, spacing, rhythm of the words, letters.

I don’t want to wait until everything is perfect (which will be never, let’s face it) before I let myself get in the game.  I’ve done that for way too long.   I admire those people who have the chutzpah to say “yeah, I can do that!” and have no idea how to do it.

So I’m going back to the joy(?!?) it brings me, admittedly no joy at this second, but joy there somewhere.  I know not everyone will like what I do and that’s okay.  I will try to accept that- -lol– and model that for my kids, who actually are my most important critics.  And, my kids, by the way, LOVE my piece.  🙂  And really, that’s all that matters.

Namaste and many blessings to you*** and get your crayons, markers, colored pencils out now and scribble and draw.  If not now, when?

P.S.  I don’t want to do a p.s. but to be fair(ish ;), my teacher’s point of view is that if he says that a piece is good now when it’s not, then what will he say when our work IS actually good.  Hmmm…good point and very true, but how do you get that beautiful mix of criticism and areas to work on along with areas improved all wrapped up in an inspiring sandwich of nibs and ink?  Because that is the only way for me to improve while skipping and singing along the (never-ending) path of improvement (and not re-living past miserable lives as a monk scribe by candlelight with my demanding superiors tsk-tsking me about my letter shape and spacing and out-of-the-box artistic vision–come to think of it, my teacher does seem very familiar…).

visionaries

I just watched “Visionaries” on Oprah’s network OWN.  I didn’t write down any quotes or anything, but I do want to remember a few ideas now.  James Cameron (the director of Avatar and Titanic) said that many years ago he had a dream that had this forest with fiber optic trees and he ended up putting that in his movie “Avatar.”  Cameron also woke up from another dream in which he was looking through all these paintings and thought “I wish I could paint like that” and then he thought I just did paint that in my dreams and he got busy trying to recreate as many of the paintings as possible.  (The book “Twilight” also came from a dream.  The chapter with the meadow scene was the dream author Stephenie Meyer wrote down and couldn’t stop thinking about.  She wondered about these characters in her dream and wanted to know more about them and started writing to find out.)

Tyler Perry, creator of many movies including the Madea movies, just started writing things down about his life when he heard Oprah say that writing things down was cathartic but changed the names of everyone in case they found his papers.  Now Perry sits down and can just write and write and he knows when he’s connected and it will be good.  (Julia Cameron has a fantastic and inspiring book called “The Artist’s Way” in which she talks about morning pages.  Morning pages are where you write three pages every morning and that gets the creative flow going–you don’t edit.  It’s messy and you just do it every morning whether you are inspired or not.  You don’t wait for inspiration; you get into the habit, the ritual of it and just do it.)

Will.I.Am musician and in the band The Black Eyed Peas writes music he loves and knows when other people will love it.  Will.I.Am made a comment that he writes music to keep his very active and distracted brain focused on something positive otherwise he would be in trouble or something to that effect.

Just think if we all were using our creative gifts and positively expressing them–we would all be happier and could create a happier, more magical world!

excerpts from Sue Bender books: Plain and Simple, Everyday Sacred, Stretching Lessons

**excerpts from Plain And Simple:

I was beginning to understand that our attitude toward the world resonates in the objects around us.  They reveal our intention.

How they [the Amish] live reflects what they believe….The Amish approach everything they do with the same attitude.  They had shown me that any type of work could be meaningful.  It’s the spirit in which you do it that makes the difference.

**excerpts from Everyday Sacred:

Each step is the place to learn.

Good deeds have echoes.

Why be unhappy about something you can change.  Why be unhappy about something you can’t change.

**excerpts from Stretching Lessons:

Goose bumps happen when your soul comes close to you, breathes lightly on the back of your neck, and wakes you up.

It’s a slow thing to give strength to your song.

If we never pause long enough to get to know the silence, how will we know what possibilities it contains.

When we allow ourselves to be more of who we are–it is a risk.

**Bender also has quotes from others in her books:

There’s a new day today–you don’t have to wear yesterday around.–Morning Star

Pay attention to what is beginning to awake within you.  The caterpillar can feel the essence of the butterfly even before it begins to emerge.–Dorian Bietz

Often the way forward is through a detour.–Susan Rothenburg (artist)

I never failed once.  It was a two-thousand step process.–Thomas Edison

Silence is the method of getting to spirit.–Ram Dass

You must do the thing you think you cannot do.–Eleanor Roosevelt

recommended books, audio cds, etc.

You Can Heal Your Life by Louise Hay

Spiritual Madness (CD) by Caroline Myss

Excuses Begone by Wayne Dyer

Fit Soul, Fit Body by Brant Secunda and Mark Allen

Change Your Aura, Change Your Life by Barbara Martin

Prepare For Surgery, Heal Faster by Peggy Huddleston

Sacred Space by Denise Linn

Soul Coaching by Denise Linn

The New Feminine Brain by Dr. Mona Lisa Schulz

sFrom Fatigued to Fantastic by Dr. Jacob Teitelbaum

Lessons in Meditation by John Novak

The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron