I know…I know…writing has been really slow on my end.  In fact the minute I decided to do Rue’s class (Re-imagining your life) things got very quiet upstairs in the ol brain department.  Funny how that works!

Which brings me to last weekend.

Last Saturday, I started a project with a couple of friends of mine called “Process Painting.” I feel like my friends are kind of slummin it having me there with them cuz they are both amazing artists.  Randie is my brilliant friend who did the logo and design for my website.  She also creates gorgeous, whimsical pottery and plays with glass fushion.  Her pieces are stunning.  If you want to check out her stuff go to: www.luckydogarts.com

Janet is another talented artist.  She is going to be offering Process Painting classes in Boulder,CO in the near future.  If you are interested in her class info, let me know and I will pass you along to her:)

So, needless to say…I was a wee bit intimidated when I went into the studio … I am not an artist!  I am only pretending

Here is the jist of process painting.  You work on one painting for a handful of weeks.  Each painting session is about 5-7 hours long.  As you fill up a sheet of paper…more paper is added.  There is no plan.  It is not about the end result (ya right!).  It is all about moving through what is going on in your head using paint.  Moving through blocks and anxiety and mind chatter with color and texture.

For a way better description go to: www.processarts.com

After we visited for awhile, we headed down to the studio.  They had already started their paintings two weeks ago…I was crashin the party!  My mind immediately went into various versions of “I suck” after I saw what they had done.  Interesting.  I hadn’t even put paint on paper and my mind was already chiming in with nasty things.

That didn’t take long!

As I stood staring at the blank paper…wondering what the hell I was gonna do, Janet directed me back to the paint.  What color was I drawn too? I loved this and felt the shift immediately.  Looking away from the paper and focusing on the color freed me up.

Another interesting thing happened.  In my mind, I really wanted to paint with this beautiful color of sky blue…but that is not what I was drawn to.  Weird huh?!  So, I picked up my brush and dunked it into pink.  As soon as my brush had contact with the paper, I was off in paint land.  It felt so amazing to just let the color direct me….

Time disappeared.

We painted.

Sometimes we talked.

Most of the time we were quiet…in our own worlds… of paint, color, texture, movement, thoughts and emotions.  I had times when I felt young and child like.  I was just enjoying the feeling of the paint.  I was enjoying the colors and the feel of the paint brush in my hand.

Other times my critic would jump in and ask the proverbial question: “What the hell is that?” Or my mind would start to judge: “That looks ugly” or “That looks stupid” or my favorite “You really shouldn’t be here cuz you suck!”

One particular time I started to feel anxiety and Janet directed me back to the paint color.  “What color are you drawn too?” she asked.  This had a magical effect.  It refocused my energy.  And I moved through the anxiety.

After some time, we took a break for lunch. We visited some more and ate some yummy this’s and that’s and then went back to painting.  The break was good.  I came back excited and ready to go again. My color palette stayed with pinks, yellows and greens…no sky blue.  I was never drawn to the blue….my mind was…but, I wasn’t.  Somehow my inspiration took over and guided me~

After hours of painting, we sat down and chatted a bit about our processes.  We had gone through different things while painting together.  It had been a very internal experience with this very external medium.

Next weekend we will do it again.  I wonder if I will be drawn to the blue next time.  I wonder what this blue is doing in my mind?  My mind likes a plan.  And right now my mind keeps wanting to plan on the blue.

We shall see.