A Blog Post With a Working Title

I sat down to write this blog post. I gave it a working title, and then proceeded to stare off into space for about 30 minutes, trying to figure out how to start the dang thing. So many false starts... Just trying to find that IN into inspiration. Trying to force something to happen!

UGH! I'm never going to get this blog post written!

Duh. Maybe try using your intuition, that wry, little internal voice said. Just start writing the first thing that pops into your head. Don't think about it too much, just go with it! Maybe it will be awesome, maybe it will suck, but at least you'll have something to work with.

Hm... That kinda sounds familiar. In fact, it sounds exactly like the kind of thing I say to people when they tell me they have no idea what to do with a painting, or even what to paint in the first place. So I took my own advice, and I just wrote the first sentence that came into my head.

"I sat down to write this blog post."

There. The hard part was over. I no longer had a blank screen staring at me, daring me to write a masterpiece. And once I had that sentence, the rest of them just started flowing! Sure, I backspaced some, moved some to other places, changed the wording as I went, read back over it to consider my progress, but I was writing and following my intuition. Turns out, writing is a LOT like painting!

Oh, so the point of my blog post? I wanted to talk about intuition, of course! Specifically using intuition while painting!

I know I say a lot about using your intuition while you're painting, and I've given you bits of my intuitive process, but sometimes, especially when we're new to something, it feels wrong to give into your intuition. Or maybe you DID give into your intuition, but you don't like the outcome. Now you might feel like you were wrong to listen to your intuition. Maybe you don't even have any idea what intuition is or how to tap into it!

Well, I want to help. Over the next little while (how long? I dunno. I'll let my intuition guide me!) I'm going to be giving you videos for paintings that I'll be doing intuitively. No practice. Very little to no planning. I'm just hitting record on my camera and, just like this blog post, putting something on the canvas so I have a starting point. I'm going to pick colors, brushes, techniques, etc. based on intuition and tell you about my decision making process as I go.

Sometimes I may use colors and materials you don't have. Do not feel like you have to run out and buy everything I use! Do not feel like you have to mix a color to exactly match whatever I'm using! Those things go directly against painting with your intuition! I want to help you learn how to make your own decisions as you go and feel confident to do so!

I will be painting on 6x6-in canvases, but all of these paintings, techniques, and concepts work on any size canvas! The one thing I do recommend, though it's not required, are Fredrix canvas pads (affiliate link) simply because they're affordable, excellent quality, and can be cut into whatever size/shape you like! When you're learning to trust your intuition, it can be easier if you know you're not practicing on a large, expensive canvas.

Also, I'll be writing a short blog post for each of my videos that gives you a little more insight into my process as well as links to everything I used (just in case you absolutely have to have something) and a short self-critique! Why am I critiquing my own painting? Because when you paint without a solid plan, there are almost always lessons learned and things that could be improved on, so I want to share that part of the process with you, too!

Phew... that was a much longer post than I'd anticipated writing, but sometimes, when you're following your intuition, you go down roads you didn't know were on the map... or... something like that. Metaphors aren't my strong suit.

Anyhow, make sure you're subscribed to my YouTube channel, and don't forget to ring the bell and select "All" to receive a notification for every video (psst, it will be more than once a week *wink*).

I'll be seeing you soon!!!