So you may have heard me whinge about this in past blogs, emails and on my socials. But it’s winter in July in Australia. And it’s bleak. Unlike winter time in the northern hemisphere where you coincide Christmas time (and Thanksgiving in the US) with winter.
Us in Australia and down under have no such lovely warm festivities to take away the dread and the cold and the long nights and short days. It’s really a grind. And in Victoria where I am located, its pretty much almost the most southern tip (not including Tassie which is an island off the south tip), so it gets cold.
And what have I been having the urge to paint? Meadows and meadows and lush gardens of wild flowers. My soul is craving for that heat, that warmth, that colour.
I mean, don’t get me wrong. It’s not like it’s awful. We have had sunny days and it’s not so cold that every greenery dies. We have beautiful winter flowers and even some jonquills and daffodils have started to bloom. (hmmm its a bit early isn’t it?) But what I am saying is that the more years I live here in Victoria (this is the 6th year now), the most I am realising, maybe I need to move up north.
I’ve not really painted garden scenes before. But I’m feeling like I want to challenge myself a bit more, to get into more complex paintings and such. So yeah. Heres some of them. You can see more on my instagram page of course.
I’ve also started a 5 day challenge with pattern floral designer Natasha Guildford! Which is a fun thing to do and it’s me dipping my toes into surface design. Something all floral artists probably think about at some point! Have any of you heard of her or done a course with her? She’s asked us to create a season mood board. So pick a season and create your own mood board around that season. And I picked summer in a heart beat. I need summer. I want summer. Give me summer now.
Another thing this week is me working hard on my online course that like 2 weeks time! I have 20 people signed up already - Amazing. I know it maybe doesn’t sound like much, but for my first time teaching a course like this, 20 is HUGE! I’m having so much fun and satisfaction preparing for the course. It’s like creating a storyline, a journey, from start to finish. Balancing giving information, inspiration, motivation, practice and connection. I find it incredibly creative and exciting. And apart from painting, teaching has been a really satisfying, creative outlet for me.
And I am so grateful I have had the chance to do so. If you know me, and I know me. I was born a performer, and I love to share what I love, what I know to an audience. I never knew that at age 42, I will be teaching an online course on watercolour flowers? That’s just insane to me. But what do you know, if you follow your intuition, things magically work out.
Which brings me to the topic - Intuition. I find myself coming back to us a lot. Especially during winter when we have so much time to consider what we are considering. How well do you listen to your intuition? What the hell is it? And how do you tune in anyway?
I used to be very confused about this whole intuition thing. Like is this the voice in my head that I should be listening to? But what if this voice is negative talk? Or causing me stress and anxiety? What if it’s a bitchy voice that’s being mean?
I can’t remember the exact moment of when it hit me, that intuition is not just a voice. But it's a whole embodied experience of knowing if something is a Yes or a No. It’s paying attention and having the wisdom, the bodily true wisdom of knowing what’s really good for you, and what’s not. And leaning in to it.
This is something I think we all learn as children. But some of us weren’t given much space to listen. Overbearing parents, the education system etc, societal pressures and what not stops us from truly developing a strong intuition.
For me I was lucky I believe, who had moderate parents who didn’t push me in any direction too hard. Who gave me a lot of freedom and choice in making my own decisions. And supported and cared and loved me enough to let me breathe and find my own way.
This is how intuition is developed. Intuition is essentially, an internal decision making system that is built up over years of experience, and the results of events, that can inform you of what is safe and what is not. That’s essential it.
Making art is a practice in developing your intuition. If you have been lost for a long time now. In our modern world of false gurus, endless options. How do we know what to do anymore. What to chose? Where to live, What to study, what job to seek? It’s overwhelming.
Making art can help hone everything back in. The simple, focused act of creating, brings flow. Which in turn brings a sense of clear decision making on our part.
Following our nose, our joy. In picking what tools to use. what colour to grab, how much water to use, what to paint first, second and so on. These micro decisions, using some techniques and skills we’ve learnt but we are the orchestrator. We are the performers.
Oh my how I have gone off topic. What was this blog post meant to be about anyway? Oh. Just a weekly update kind of thing. Nothing much to write about so let me just write about anything. Automatic writing. Intuitive writing?
I’d like to make a video about Intuitive painting some time in the future. But at the moment, I feel the motivation to make videos feels a bit low. I guess one can’t be pumped all the time eh? Maybe it’s the winter. Maybe it’s the pressure. Maybe it’s looming online course I'm feeling under pressure to create. And also, maybe it’s because I have a mini yoga retreat to prep for this weekend. It’s a few things.
In any case, I wanna make this blog an authentic, casual, the real-me kinda place. And I hope you’d appreciate that too. The rambly, not so polished, me that I can safely express myself. Somedays I’ll make amazing essays. And sometimes, It will just be me rambling away.
Thanks for reading till here! Hope you’re having a grand ol time creating art.
Comments