LET'S TALK ABOUT THE FEAR OF "RUINING" A PAINTING

I woke up this morning feeling inspired to write you a little note about a painting I just finished.

It’s a big one, 4 by 5 feet, and I started it almost a year ago. It’s been hanging around my studio, half-finished, collecting dust, ever since.

It was one of those paintings that flowed out quickly, and I immediately liked the energy of it. In fact, I like it so much, that at a certain point I froze, not wanting to “ruin” it by going further.

If you paint, I’m guessing you might be familiar with this feeling?

This is what it looked like after the first layer and at the point of freezing.

But here’s the thing, as much as I “liked” this painting, I knew I didn’t “love” it, and I also knew it didn’t feel finished to me.

If you’ve ever taken one of my courses, you’ve probably heard me say, “You need to be willing to let go of what you like to make room for what you love.”

Yikes. It was time to take my own advice.

So for last week’s Real Time Live Volume Five, I hesitantly dusted off this painting and hung it on the wall. The theme of the class was about creating more dynamic “pop,” and that’s exactly what I felt this one needed.

I felt super nervous changing a painting that I already liked so much (especially in front of a camera!), but as soon as I mustered the courage to start adding rich colors and some Morocco-inspired shapes, all my fears dissolved and my excitement for new possibilities took over.

For the next two hours, I painted live and shared my experience along the way (you can watch the recorded version here), and a couple of days later, I spent a blissful evening alone in my studio finishing it up.

TADA! This is the finished painting, and I’m really happy with it!

I love how Brave Intuitive Painting can serve as such a potent practice for living.

It continually calls us into a place of honesty, urging us to listen to our own intuition, block out the radio waves about what other people are saying, and trust ourselves fully… even when we feel the fear.

Painting in this way also requires a moment-to-moment assessment of what’s working and the courageous ability to let go of what’s come before in order to make room for something even greater to emerge.

Whew! It’s such a wild ride sometimes, but I can’t imagine a more immediate and effective way to practice these ways of being, and I’m forever grateful for the privilege to create and learn about myself in these ways.

I hope you can make some time to paint this weekend, especially if you have a collection of half-finished paintings just waiting for your next brave moves 😉 Remember, it’s just paint!

You got this.

Love,
xo Flora