Art is the Teacher

Unplanted Garden, 48x60, acrylic polymer collage

The "ego" makes art like we expect to see.  But if we trust our hunches and intuitions, our art can move beyond predictable.  Giving yourself permission to take risks and rebel against the ordinary, is ultimate creative freedom and is the path for finding your own voice. Painting from the heart, the space of receptivity and non-judgement, allows us to recognize unique expressive qualities when they emerge. Step away from your work and "notice what you notice".  Listen to the art!  

 Play and whimsy are effective tools for creativity (also essential tools for living).  Did you know humor is a right-brain quality?  Larry Bell said in a radio interview, "Relax your vision and daydream within the painting."  Makes perfect sense to me!

A university professor was known for walking into a room of painters saying "keep it rich", then retreating into his studio and his own work.  Edgar Whitney the famous watercolor      teacher told me he could walk into a room of students and say, "make the darks darker",       and he knew it was what they all needed to hear. Teaching an abstract composition workshop last week, I realized my mantra could be "stop thinking and just paint"!  Getting out of your head...how refreshing!