presence

Boredom Is No Big Deal

Brightly colored paints and a cell phone on a table

While you are busy being bored—that is, not finding the excitement and stimulation you are looking for—often you will not be noticing how much you are abandoning yourself in the process. ~ Edward Espe Brown, […]

Process Painting Through Grief

Brightly colored process painting of a figure emerging from a coffin

My dear old 94-year-old Dad died in late September. After the initial grief and busy-ness, including helping my 91-year-old Mom resettle, I was exhausted. I noticed my mood fluctuating between sadness and grief and feeling […]

Safe Place, Sacred Space

Process Painting Studio at The Esalen Institute | The Painting Experience

“An artmaking space is a “mishkan” a portable sanctuary. Each artist working there is alone with her image and the message it brings as well as being in a subtle communion with others in the […]

Facing Resistance in Painting

Facing Resistance in Painting | The Painting Experience Blog

“An important time to paint is when you resist it the most. The strength of the aversion means that there is something just beneath the surface, thinly disguised, ready to emerge. Resistance is a reminder […]

Following the Thread

Following the Thread | The Painting Experience Blog

The Way It Is There is a thread you follow. It goes among things that change. But it doesn’t change. People wonder what you are pursuing. You have to explain about the thread. But it […]

Working From the Body: Feeling and Painting

Working From the Body: Feeling and Painting | The Painting Experience Blog

One of the ways our facilitators support painters at The Painting Experience is to direct them toward what they are feeling, or sensing, to access the body’s intelligence and to help bypass the thinking mind. […]