What if you let the paint lead for once?
Not the plan. Not the rules. Just your gut and a brush.
Sounds wild, right? Like something a five-year-old might do. But that’s kind of the point.
So many artists, especially those who’ve been painting for years, tell me the same thing:
“I’m painting, but it doesn’t feel alive anymore.”
“I know what I’m doing, but it’s starting to feel… mechanical.”
I know that feeling.
I’d just moved to Boulder CO. Surrounded by boxes, I sat on the floor in front of a big white canvas with a palette with an array of bright oil paint. It was right after I took my first intuitive painting workshop in NYC facilitated by Stewart Cubley. I didn’t know it yet, but I was about to break free from the rules, the shoulds, and the inner critic. I didn’t stop until it was finished. To this day it is still my favorite painting.
No plan. No pressure. Just bold strokes and abundant energy and confidence.
That painting is the featured picture in this post and hangs in my living room now. I never changed a thing.
Intuitive painting isn’t about replacing skill—it’s about rediscovering joy.
It’s about reconnecting with yourself and your voice on the canvas.
So here’s the question:
What would your art look like if joy were the goal again?
