Often people come to my courses who want to learn to paint more freely . You want to loosen up and get to the image results with more ease . They have to function in everyday life through work and family and are therefore used to the mind taking the lead and spreading out so much that there is no place for intuition. Lately I have been reading more often about “ gut feeling ”, which ideally is placed next to the mind. Your gut feeling can help you to make decisions in a flash, without your mind weighing all the information for hours.
In painting, it often doesn’t help you if you’re just in the “head”. Why?
Even if you have mastered all the compositional rules perfectly, the picture may still lack the lightness, the specific swing or the disturbing factor that makes the whole thing really lively and individual. Often I only find pictures interesting when the rules of composition are turned a little upside down.
The gut feeling can develop from the experience . In my opinion, it is good if the knowledge slides down a floor and you are more likely to “ feel ” what is to come next. You are then able to play freely with these rules and gain ease, but also your own clarity , because you do not cling to the rules of composition and bite into them.
How do you get out of the mind into the feeling, into your intuition?
- It is a good idea to open all your senses while painting: To really look carefully is an art that strengthens your perception. But also the other senses like hearing, taste, smell, feeling can help you to work less from the mind. Now you might be wondering what this is about now? Why can hearing be important for painters? I think all of this is good for perceiving more sensitively. There are people who take in their information primarily with their eyes, but there are also people who are auditory-oriented. Others have to feel something to feel what’s going on with it.
So: what does it sound like when the paint is warped on the canvas? Does the brush rustle? How does the material you work with smell? Do you feel the pressure with which you guide your painting tool and how does it feel in your hand?
To expand your possibilities, it is great if the less developed senses have something to do. And because “tasting” is really difficult when painting, there is a delicious lunch in the studio during all-day courses that stimulates all the senses🙂
- Linking the left and right hemispheres of the brain
Even if scientists do not agree, I am convinced that by activating both hemispheres of the brain, you can be holistically creative. Among other things
, the left hemisphere should be responsible for the rational handling of tasks. Logical skills, numbers, language, facts are ascribed to her. She has analytical tendencies and likes order.
The right half of the brain is more about fantasy, rhythm and feelings. It should be spontaneous, creative, intuitive and visual and also likes chaos.
By networking the two halves, you can benefit from both sides. This can be done, for example, by working with both hands, for example with 2 pens in the right and left hand to draw in yourself (also crosswise). You can also try to approach tasks differently than you are used to: e.g. using your untrained hand to paint or draw. Then you also train the less pronounced half of the brain.
- I am a person of movement. Although I also like “lying down” in all its variations (on the sofa, in the hammock, in bed, on the beach), I often only manage to change perspective through movement. I can also relax better through movement than through absolute rest. In the resting position, the thoughts circle in my head all the more, but through the movement I feel my body and the mind is calm !
Try not to just sit or stand in one spot during the painting process. Get moving, go around the table or easel, or put the picture on the floor so you can work with more momentum . You will see how the expression in the picture will change.
- Can you only work when you feel like it or would it be helpful if you look for like-minded people with whom you get together too regularly and stick with it, because the communal experience in the group inspires you?
Or is it better when you have peace and quiet, are alone and you can concentrate fully on yourself? Try out how this aspect affects your painting.
- How does the room have to be so that you feel comfortable and you get into a good painting mood? Do you have to cover up or make space to work undisturbed ? How must the noises be like the light? Does music inspire you or do fragrances open your senses? All of this can help you let the thinking fade into the background for a brief moment.
- Stress and too little time kill creativity, as does too strong an inner critic and expectation pressure (also that of other people). Likewise distraction. Switch the phone to quiet when you go to the studio so that you can really get involved in the ” feeling “!
In one of my last week’s courses I had a participant whose intellect first wanted to ” understand ” the further procedure in the picture and who thought many, many steps in advance. After a while the saying came: “I’ll just do it!” Then I knew she was ready to put her mind back a little and dare to venture into the unknown and the unexpected . And I was allowed to accompany you in this important step !
