Intuitive Painting

Intuitive painting is a practice, not a product. It’s painting as a form of attention: breath, body, color, and presence working together. We learn to tell the difference between intuition and the judging mind, and we let the next stroke be guided by what’s true in the moment—not by a plan or an outcome.

Intuitive Painting is a process of self-discovery through opening up to your intuition. My role as a facilitator is to witness, hold the space, and help you stay by your "Intuition Spring." This presence is opening, meditative, transformative, and healing. ​You don't need any background in art or painting to immerse yourself in this process. All of us have an innate freedom to express ourselves with colors and images; however, it gets blocked by our critical minds, judgment, environmental conditioning, and, at times, the training we have. In this process, we will experience the freedom of expression, which will be a portal to a wholesome, intuitive presence. 

• Free the creative self. We loosen perfectionism, comparison, and the need for approval. We risk, play, and experiment. 

• Return to presence. When we drop “shoulds,” we create room for curiosity, compassion, and calm.

• Build trust. We practice letting rhythm and timing lead—like a river finding its course.

“ Dance is not just 
Getting up painlessly
Like a leaf 
Blown on the wind;
Dancing is when you tear
Your heart out 
And rise out of your body
To be free in the world
Between the worlds.” Rumi

Intuitive painting welcomes everything—bold color or fine detail, abstract or imagery, beauty or mess, flow or stuckness. If it’s honest, it belongs.

It is not a technique class, a style to copy, or a results-based process. We’re not aiming to make something “pretty” or to perform. We’re practicing how to listen.

This practice can surface grief, joy, memory, and power. We meet what arises with presence in a trauma-informed container. Intuitive painting can make the unconscious more conscious, strengthen your alliance with inner wisdom, and support a sense of wholeness.

How it differs from art therapy: feelings are welcomed and witnessed, but we don’t analyze the image. We honor the mystery; healing can happen without explanation. When it’s helpful, I’ll invite you to notice the somatic (body) experience of what wants expression. This work is not psychotherapy or a substitute for clinical care.

No. All levels are welcome. There is no critique and no right way to do this. Your willingness to show up is the only prerequisite.

What materials do we use?

We primarily use water-based paints (acrylic or tempera), large-format paper, tape, and a range of brushes and tools. For in-person groups, materials are provided. For online sessions, you’ll receive a simple materials list and affordable options.

We start with breath and gentle, 5Rhythms-inspired movement to loosen the body and settle the nervous system. A short sharing circle, a brief meditation, and sometimes a poem (Rumi, Hafez, or another day’s inspiration) help set the tone. At times, we include certain exercises to unfold the creativity or connect with a theme. Then we paint—one honest stroke at a time.

I hold a steady, respectful space, informed by trauma-sensitive training and nature-based practices. Breaks are available as needed. We usually paint in silence. As a facilitator, I do check-ins to help you reflect on your process or reconnect with the creative flow if stuck. Closing includes an optional reflection—verbally or in writing.

• A steadier presence and a softer nervous system

• Courage to create without permission and feel what’s real, to say Yes to what belongs and to say No to what you need to reject, within yourself or in the world

• A renewed sense of belonging to yourself, your body, your ancestors, and the living world, as we experience it

• Trust in your own rhythm, timing, and voice