One of the things I love about the intuitive painting process is how much it encourages me to go under the surface of things. To explore what I can't always see. To dive into my inner world and try and express visually what is not readily visible.

This can sometimes look like feelings or moods, but when I first started painting intuitively I was fascinated by processes and structures inside of my own body. Veins and blood, bones and my internal organs kept showing up again and again. And I never TRIED to paint them realistically. I was more interested with painting how I imagined them to be or how I experienced them energetically.

This little pencil drawing that I did this morning felt like that kind of inside-my-body exploration. I've been having some sciatic pain in one of my legs related to ongoing problems with my lower back. And this sketch makes me think of nerve pathways and cells and the root-like quality of dendrites.

Now the thing that always fascinates me about this process is that when I sat down to do this I didn't have a plan. I didn't say to myself  "I'm in pain so I'm going to draw about that."

While I was drawing I wasn't particularity thinking about my back issues. I just drew and painted. And to tell you the truth I'm not sure that this is even about my back. But once it's out there on the paper it's hard to not make that association. It's like my intuition is constantly communicating with me and my job is to just allow it to have its say.

This piece is done with my little handy dandy portable water color set, which I love, love, love for traveling.

Again, I don't know exactly what to make of this one. It's just another experience of trusting the brush or as one of my students puts it "following orders from headquarters." I start painting and am often as surprised as anyone to see what, or often WHO shows up.

It's a great example of what it looks like to simply listen to my intuition (which by the way, is INCREDIBLY bossy!) And that means not knowing where in the heck any particular painting or drawing may be headed.

I begin with some color and then my intuition starts talking to me. Saying things like "OK. Now paint an eye. And another one. Now some blue around the eye. A face would be nice. How about a crown on the head. Now some bubbles coming out of the mouth. That fish needs some teeth." And on and on.

When I start to get a little anxious and worried about where this is going I just keep saying my mantra which is  "The painting is none of my business. The painting is none of my business."

My only job is to keep moving my hand and let the mystery take me wherever it wants me to go!

I don't have a dog. In fact my hubby and I don't have any living furry pets at all because we both have pretty severe animal allergies. But we also love animals. And so we have many stuffed animals, carved wooden folk art animals and tons of imaginary friends in our house. I also have animal friends who show up in my art at times and today it was this happy, big hearted doggie, who appeared while I was doodling and playing with some colored gel pens.

I'm pretty sure his name is Seymour the pink Samoyed...even though he doesn't look like a Samoyed at all! But it doesn't really matter since it's MY imaginary world and he's my imaginary friend so I can do whatever pleases me!!

My hubby and I are on vacation and right now we're  in the town of St. George Utah and visiting the various national and state parks in the area. Yesterday we went to a place called Snow Canyon State Park and today we are going to the world famous Zion National Park.

I am definitely a mountain and earthy girl - Virgo all the way- so I'm pretty blissed out to be hanging out in my beloved red rock desert hiking and exploring and communing with the earth spirits.

The little colored pencil drawing I did today is pretty reflective of the happiness I am feeling. I just love how the energy of the land flows through me and energizes me, leaving me juiced and jazzed and at the same time totally content. It's been a busy and stressful last few months so I've been desperately needing a big jolt of nurturing mama goddess energy.

Considering the look on this girls face it looks like I found it!

Even though I've been doing intuitive art for about a gazillion years now it still always amazes me how taking a little time to put some color on paper can take me into a much deeper and more alive relationship with myself. I just feel whatever my experience is in that moment on a whole other level.