Intuitive painting and finding the magic
Intuitive painting and finding the magic
Plus a reminder: my yearly Big Art Sale ends after October 8!
Hello friends,
I’ve been deep diving into allowing more magic to show up in my art making process and paintings. I’m learning to slow down a bit and trust more while painting, and it’s spilling over into my life in other ways too.
Read on for my latest article.
Find me online:
All of my existing paintings are ON SALE through 10/8/24! If you’ve had your eye on one of my paintings, this is a great time to snap it up. Kris’s Art Sale
Visit my art website: KrisCahillArt.com.
Fine art prints of my work: Fine Art America shop
Thank you for being here, I always appreciate you for showing up.
Love, Kris
Intuitive painting: playing until the magic shows up
I’ve always been drawn to making art intuitively, well before I ever heard the phrase ‘intuitive artist’.
What does it mean to be an intuitive artist? Here’s one definition I found online, and it works for me:
Intuitive art is the act of tapping into your creative intuition as a means of producing art. By doing so, you're able to create art in a non-judgmental way that grants you the liberty of experimenting and making mistakes. The goal is to make art without overthinking the creative process.
For me it means letting go of control, and not needing to achieve a perfectly finished product. I get further by allowing the process of creating to lead me. I’m learning how to better communicate with the painting as I create it, from a place of being rather than overthinking.
Getting stuck by overthinking while painting leads to lots of frustration about the process.
A note on this - of course I’m thinking while I’m painting, I’m just not overthinking. I may have a thought like ‘ooh I want that yellow there’, but that’s different from obsessing over it and not trusting my first instinct. If I get stuck in overthinking, I know it’s time to clean my brushes and go do something else, then come back later on with fresh energy.
Giving myself plenty of experimental play and practice time in the studio helps me work from this intuitive place while painting. I might have 15 minutes to paint, perhaps I have a couple of hours, but any time at all is good. I get so much out of just showing up to look at my ongoing work. Spending time looking is at least as important as spending time painting.
I’m so glad to have a dedicated art studio again, because I can leave my tools and supplies out, and it’s super easy to just go in and play. Painting for 5-10 minutes before jumping online to work with a client or student makes me so happy. Sometimes that’s all I need that day.
Other days I want the slow studio day, those are my favorites. To be able to take my time without worrying over deadlines is such a gift.
I’m learning how to slow down and look at the work more, then give it space.
I’m so glad when I do this, and it always pays off. I got to practice doing this recently while making some paintings on paper, inspired from a class taught by Louise Fletcher online this summer.
The exercise was an experiment in using a limited color palette, and working within a limited time frame. Working this way left no room for diddling about, over painting or overthinking. I had to work fast and trust.
Then I had to step away and let these pieces breathe. Up close and in the process of painting them, I had no perspective and couldn’t really see them clearly. By giving myself space from them for a while, I could see how much I really like them.
I’m so excited because these paintings are a new direction for me. Here’s a peek at 4 of the new pieces from the ‘Joy’ series. Currently there are 9 available, and I’ll be launching those new pieces later this week on my website.
Whether or not you call yourself an artist, working from an intuitive place is something you can also practice, in any part of your life. I think we all benefit when we give ourselves that permission to trust, experiment, and play.
My yearly art sale is almost over!
Here’s a few of the many beautiful paintings that are marked down most generously in my online store through end of day 10/8/24. Check out the art sale.
Inspiration for welcoming the intuitive process into your creations
I listened to two art podcasts this week that gave me some good ways to see and think about my work. Very grateful am I to Art Juice and Laura Horn!
Have a happy week, and thanks for reading! Please make sure you are registered to vote this November, and thank you.
Love, Kris