Natural Painting

  came to me one cool rainy afternoon in the spring of 1997, when out of sheer frustration with my earlier painting efforts I followed the impulse to paint the way tulips feel instead of the way they look. I wanted to connect with the life I could sense in those flowers. I simply set that intention, sat quietly, closed my eyes and using my hands, painted whatever came. The result was not what I expected yet I loved it instantly. The vibrant colours, unique shapes and resonant enchantment of the experience convinced me that something normally unseen was revealed.

Having been well schooled in the capture and dissection style of knowing Nature, I had never before thought to paint a resonant connection with another living being. Being blissfully nourished that day by both the process and the actual painting, I was inspired to explore further. I wondered what would happen if I simply began journaling how I feel and then painting with no plan.

Over time, ways to soften the thinking planning mind bubbled up, while painting taught me to trust the hands instead. There was a melting down of the tension between what I was taught to think and do, and what felt natural in the moment. Paint gave colour and form to this communion. Natural patterns, a metamorphic cycle and my muse, a giant Cecropian silk moth appeared on the page and in my yard convincing me that we are Nature and that creating naturally nourishes intimacy with the living world.

By combining in-the-moment presence with Nature impersonating “techniques” we can begin to explore our natural creativity, animate the uniqueness of our inner landscape, and deepen a connection to Nature. When we impersonate Nature’s processes, we feel more natural ourselves and begin to understand how Nature works. The laws of self similarity tell us that we can open up to universal patterns that animate all Nature. So we do not use our will to create images rather we use our will to open to and enter a relationship with Nature through paint. We open to the essence of Nature.

The following section is an invitation to develop your own unique painting practice or strengthen a practice that may need refreshing. In workshops, I give participants a range of things to try, like a buffet of offerings that can be put on their plate or passed by as their appetite dictates. The main objective is to begin painting and commit to regular engagement. I recommend painting 3-4 times per week in short sessions that might only require 15 minutes of your time. Make a small painting space for yourself or simply leave a small watercolour book with a children’s paint set out where you’ll see it as you go about your day. The idea is to make it easy to quickly set up and paint.

To begin we set up the paints, water and paper and let what was meant to happen that day, take place as best as it can. We close our eyes and run our hands across the palette of coloured paints to first feel, then choose a colour. We can paint with our eyes closed, alternating which hand to use, all the while choosing the colours “blindly”. By feeling our way through a painting we move from the planning mind to a place where natural body expressions can reveal themselves. Our most direct experience of Nature comes in relationship to our own bodies. 

Natural painting invites us to:

• set an intention
• develop a ritual for setting up
• drop into silence and breath
• soften body tightness
• feel the deep rooting of the feet
• choose the paints with eyes closed
• with eyes closed trust where the hands lead
• follow what attracts in the moment
• be spontaneous and playful
• stay mindfully in the present moment
• commune with images as living beings
• record the experience
• reflect on the experience
• close with a ritual
• make a small offering to show gratitude