painting from within ~ THE PROCESS       [ the painting process ]   [ about creativity ]   [ art-process as spiritual practice ] When children start playing, they explore with amazing freedom. They come from a pure place for the sake of play and the fun of inventing with no thought of an end result.  It is the process and not the product. We want to recapture that feeling and paint from that place. When you start to paint, you can start in one of two ways. The first option is to study technique, colour, balance, perspective, etc. until you master the skill that allows you to portray what you like. Sometimes this is not enough.  You may want your work to be alive and original and to feel passion running through your blood. If you want to experience passion you need to get your heart and soul involved, which will lead to discovering your freedom and developing your spontaneity and your intuition.  The heart needs freedom to express, respond and invent. The second option is to not to study at all and enter creation with innocence and freedom from the start.  You can discover how to be spontaneous, you develop your intuition, and you follow the inspiration from your heart. Skill and technique are not the focus of the work, this approach demands that you do not focus on product, but that you become acquainted with the source of creation - Point Zero. What is important is what happens to you while you paint. The focus is yourself and how you respond. Do you want to be free?  Do you want to be spontaneous?  Do you trust your intuition? You will begin to start knowing yourself and who you are. Point Zero is the source of creation. To create is to touch the spirit. It is found in that moment when you abandon yourself to the call of your intuition. Creativity: is life energy moving through you. arises out of the energy of the entire universe. leads to spirit. explores the unknown. is something flowing through us. moves in cycles. is constantly changing and moving, always asking you to respond no matter what. leads you to your heart & soul - the birth of wisdom. When stimulated, creativity reaches every aspect of our lives. It's job is to open as much space around and inside of you that it can. Art-Process is meditation in action.  When done regularly from a place of intuition and surrendering, creativity becomes a spiritual practice. The creative process is a powerful tool that can lift us beyond mental chatter, judgments, and beliefs and lead us to discover new dimensions of being. When art-process is practiced with spiritual understanding, it leads us away from the demands of the ever-hungry ego and wakes us up from the all-encompassing illusion of life. The great temptation of creation is to do it for product instead of for process. We must learn not to respond to that pressure and instead ride the currents of inspiration that come from the merging of the personal with the universal. When we stop listening to our intuition we abandon the moment; boredom, tiredness, and creative blocks appear instantly.  In creativity as in spiritual practice, we use every feeling and each block to transcend the limitations of our selves. To face creative blocks is to re-enter the present and meet spirit. Art-process, when done according to ancient Buddhist principles, propels us into the mystery of our lives. Creativity becomes a means to explore and transcend who we think we are. [ quote from Michele Cassou's book ~ "Buddhist Art Doctor" ] View our Brochure (pdf format) Created by:  Mentat Consulting - Web Site Design and Web Site Hosting.  Updated: July, 2007   Copyright © 2006-2007  Cheryl Opie ~ Painting From Within ~ All rights reserved 0428-820-100       Melbourne, Australia