Welcome to Paint Medicine Expressive Arts!

Practices and Principles (sounds boring, but it’s not.)

This is a little guide so that you know what to expect in the Paint Medicine classes.

I’ll talk a bit about some of this before we paint, but it’s very helpful to read this in its entirety (yes, it’s a little long) if you are new to the practice so that you have a deeper understanding behind the method! We have a limited time in class, so reading this beforehand will be very helpful for everyone.

If you don’t want to read and would rather watch and listen to me read them, click on the video below.

+It’s a Process over Product Practice

What matters is what is going on INSIDE of you, not what you are painting on the paper.

I know this sounds strange. And it’s not easy to grasp at first. We are using paint to express ourselves visually, but what we are focusing on is the actual process and not the final result.
We are learning to pay attention to what we feel AS we paint–not what we feel by looking at what we’ve painted.
And yes, this is all backwards and upside-down from everything you’ve ever learned.
We are taught that making “pretty” art or compelling art is what we should be doing. We can even express our innermost selves and it says something about who we are and that somehow validates us.
That’s exactly what we are UNDOING in this class.
What we are hoping to get to is that the simple act of being creative is a precious thing and validating in and of itself.
We are trying to see and feel the value of being creative as having it’s own merit. It is a way to get in touch with our hearts and see ourselves more clearly. It’s a way of nurturing ourselves and experiencing creativity as the healing force that it can be for all of us.
Making art like this means that it doesn’t matter what the painting looks like at all. What it means is that sometimes you will like your art, sometimes you will hate it, sometimes it will annoy, confuse, disappoint, bore, amaze, astonish, and/or delight you.
And through doing this, you get to know yourself more deeply, love yourself, and feel more deeply alive by fully experiencing your range of emotions and expressing them with paint.

+No Comments Practice

In Paint Medicine we don’t talk about each others’ paintings.

Why not?

One of the things we are trying to shift is our relationship to our inner critic, or the judging mind.
We often believe that what we consider “good” or “bad” is the most important thing. And that this part of our mind is the most valuable.
We also don’t really know how to relate to what we see in the world in any other way. We are so used to having an opinion about everything, understanding our preferences and making decisions based on that.
In this practice, we are allowing what comes up and being with it for what it is. It’s like meditating with paint. When a thought comes up when you are meditating, the idea is to acknowledge it and let it go.
Thoughts will arise and you will have opinions, yes, but the practice is to try to not give any attention to them.
In this way of simply allowing, you access the right side of your brain, the side that holds intuition and the keys to your heart.
So, even if you want to say something encouraging or nice about someone else’s painting or technique, it automatically brings in the left brain, the judging mind.
This is why we don’t comment on each other’s works.

+The Practice of Silence in the Studio

I ask that you treat the studio like a temple or a meditation hall. It’s a place to honor our deep connection to ourselves while also being held in community.
In this process, we are trying to learn to listen to ourselves and what is real in any given moment. Practicing being present and open to what our inner-self has to say. It’s really like having a heart to heart with yourself where you talk with paint.
Here we are going into the world of our dreams, visions, and fantasies and shifting from the outer world of activity, interaction and productivity.
You came here because on some level you truly want a deeper relationship with your true, authentic self. And at the same time, you resist it with everything you have. Both are true. We are constantly torn between wanting the deepest connection and the desire to avoid it through any distraction possible!
This is human!
And there are distractions EVERYWHERE. Your phone, your thoughts, the to-do list, etc. etc.
Coming here we give ourselves the opportunity to stop diverting our attention and to stay present with whatever is coming up within at the moment.
The diversions WANT to come in, though. They do! And often that will relate to talking in the studio. So, as an act of respect for yourself and others, we remain silent.
Of course, I will be coming around and speaking to each of you and helping you stay on track with your process. There will be periodic conversations that you hear between me and a student.
These are kind of like “soul discussions” to help you go deeper into your process and not further away. They are also helpful for other people in the room to hear.
I am here to help. If you find yourself stuck or bored, frustrated or miserable, call me over! I have many tricks up my sleeve to help get you back into the flow!
We also don’t listen to music as it can pull you into different emotional states and we want you to tune in to your own inner radio.

+The Practice of Full Emotional Expression

All of your feelings and expressing them outwardly is welcome in the studio.

Being fully present with yourself, paying attention to your inner impulses and connecting to your unconscious psyche can be very powerful on a deep emotional level.
It’s not at all uncommon for people to feel sad and cry, feel rage and want to fling paint, or to feel absolute joy and laugh out loud.
Your 100% feeling self is welcome here. You don’t have to be quiet or keep a lid on yourself. And know that everyone else in the room is allowed the same.
You also don’t need to worry about anyone else or need to take care of anyone.
Often people just need to express themselves and then it’s over. I am here as support. If you feel like you might need to step away to really wail or yell for a bit, we can do that too.
Also, listening to someone else experience emotion might trigger your own sadness or fear or whatever comes up. It’s fine to have all of your feelings and they can often help you release what’s there for you.

+The Practice of Being Present to Whatever Shows Up

Please don’t fix, change, or improve or manipulate something in the painting if you have a strong negative reaction to it.

It’s the Wisdom of No Mistakes. Everything that shows up on your painting is there for a reason, we are assuming.

This practice is also like a direct line to divine wisdom, the kind you get in touch with when you are truly paying attention and having a deep inner dialogue with your authentic self.
This will uncover how your mind works, how your heart feels and uncover some deep unconscious patterns.
Sometimes, we don’t like what we see. We judge our efforts calling them childish or stupid. Or what we paint doesn’t come out like we saw it in our minds and we get disappointed. Then, we immediately want to cover it up or change it because it makes us uncomfortable. We want to make it more pleasing.
When something comes up that you really don’t like or have a hard time with, it usually is a signal that something important is going on. Something you may need to feel or understand, bring to consciousness and ultimately, heal.
Also, if whatever you’ve painted gives you feelings of shame, embarrassment or inadequacy, and you want to get rid of it, that is ALWAYS the judging mind showing up!
We practice something called Radical Self-Acceptance here. It means treating everything that shows up from your brush with respect, curiosity, and compassion for yourself. And that includes the ugly stuff, too.
When you sit with the uneasy states, and don’t try to get rid of them, you will experience something different.
Actively engaging with these hard and challenging places in your psyche and using the power of creative expression, they can magically transform in ways you could never even imagine.

+The Practice of Finishing a Painting

Complete one painting before starting another.
You can paint as many paintings as you want here. However, each painting needs to be seen to it’s final resolution.
As I’ve said, we are giving ourselves over to our own intuition and authentic self and not to the fearful, judging mind.
Sometimes, we think we are done with a painting because the judging mind is telling us we are stuck or bored, frustrated or just hating what we are painting. It’s tempting to call it done and move on to a new one.
The idea is to have an “exchange” with the work back and forth- asking it what it might want by tuning in to what you feel.
When you think you are done, you can call me over and I will do the “finishing conversation” with you to see if there is any energy left for whatever you are painting. Then you sign the piece, as a way to claim and own what you’ve finished.
Then, get a new piece of paper and face the creative void again!

+Being Here Now Practice

We are practicing staying present as much as possible to each moment.

No planning, just unfolding. This is how we do it. And this gives us a chance to be surprised.
We speak the language of image, shape, and color.
- Image- could mean anything that pops in your head when you tap in, and once again, not caring how it comes out- allowing for symbols and not necessarily realism is where it’s at.
- Shape- your feelings can take all kinds of shapes- who knows…
- Color- just go with your gut- this is NOT about matching!
One thing we want to stay away from is painting abstract concepts like “beauty “ or “love”. This is very hard to paint. We are always going to bring the feeling back to a translation in image, shape and color.
The painting will always tell you what it wants NOW. When you stay in the present and listen, your job is to do what the painting wants. Follow the orders of the greater wisdom of your creative guidance.
Your creative self may want to do blue dots, and you have no idea why. The judging mind will come in and want to make sense, or try to tell you if it looks good or not.
Keep your attention focused on the voice of your creative intelligence.

+Follow the Energy Practice

Only paint what has energy for you in the given moment.

Check in with your feelings and your body. They will guide you. Your imagination will go wild with ideas and sometimes overwhelm you.
Following your aliveness, your curiosity, and your excitement is what we are going for. What matters is that you are FEELING something! This will always take you deeper into your process and into more connection with yourself.

+Open to Meaningless Experience Practice

This makes no sense. Don’t worry.

We are meaning-making machines. We want to know what this is all about- to uncover something and make it clear to ourselves.
In this process, we go into the unknown. The deep, wild, wooly, chaotic unknown. You may start painting and have NO idea what is going on or where the process is taking you. THIS IS IT!
I know it can be scary, but this is really where the juice is. We may want to start trying to get it back in control.
Uncertainty is where true creativity lives. Allowing yourself to navigate this terrain and be brave, not knowing WTF is happening is when the most powerful transformation takes place.

+No Mistakes Practice

Again, no right or wrong.

Whatever happens is what is supposed to happen. A drip, an accident, a whoopsie-doo, or whatever is fine. Do not cover it up or try to fix it.
The judging mind is at it again- she wants to categorize good, bad, better, best. It’s constant.
And it causes anxiety.
And it’s exhausting.
View your whole process like you can’t make a mistake and you will suffer WAY LESS.
Obsessing over making something look “right”, look better, or just fixing it will creep in.
Stop it.
There are no mistakes.
What there is to do is stay in the creative process, stop beating yourself up, and move on to what can happen next.
If the mistake happens and ruins your beautiful work, take a minute to feel the upset. We have a fantasy of perfection and believe that we are in control.
We know that we really aren’t in control in this life, and this is a place to practice feeling that and giving yourself space and grace with this truth.
Remember- a drip is just a drip and never the problem. The judging mind is being a bully again.
Mistakes are impossible and actually an opening to incredible creative freedom.

+Journey Into the Unknown

Surrender to the creative energy and you will go places you’ve never been before.
When in doubt, PAINT.
TRUST THE BRUSH.