Otherworldly Winds: Work In Progress

Here is one way to balance art and the rest of daily life: just find a stopping point after an hour and say “good enough for now, the rest will be waiting tomorrow” and cut yourself some slack. I have not been having a good day and was tempted to check out and just read in bed wrapped in a blanket nest. Instead, I turned to that form of art that is always a warm embrace for me: intuitive painting.

This time, I decided to paint digitally. I don’t know if I’ve ever really given intuitive digital painting a try – maybe five minutes here or there, but no complete pieces. And while this piece is still in progress, it genuinely surprised me where it went.

I started with a rough gesture motion line, planning recreate the cascading leaves effect from my last watercolor intuitive painting piece. But then I wanted a background, which at first seemed like volcanoes or mountains, but reminded me of sand dunes. I’ve only ever walked the sand dunes east of Lake Michigan, but I wanted to evoke something otherworldly. I’m currently reading Sing the Light, which is a Sci-fi story on an alien ice planent, so perhaps strange worlds is where my mind wanted to wander.

The abstract leaves morphed into soft petals. That is the heart of how to intuitive paint: following a flowing of ideas as they occur, like letting the subconscious mind send little bubbles of thought to the surface.

Intuitive painting feels strange but also so deeply soothing. It’s like I’m saying to my soul: I trust you. I’ll paint whatever might come, I am open. It is a true dialog with my muse.

Of course this painting isn’t finished, so where it goes from here could change drastically. My loose plan is to fill the sky with stars. Maybe a big planet with rings on the horizon. Work on the wavy dune texture a bit more. Add shading to the petals and change their color to be more vibrant, like they are glowing from within. The leaves are mostly the color I want them. It’s exciting – I want to work on it more tonight, but if I stop now, I can do a lot of other things that are also very good for my health and well being.

For example, after signing off here, I’m going to wash dishes (blah), take a long shower, and then spend time at my altar meditating. If there is time, I may do a quick tarot reading for myself. And then, yes, curl into a nest of blankets and read before going to bed.

‘Til next time. <3