Creating, learning and playing

20 ways to wawaken your intuitive artist's soul

List love…life flows so much better with a list

Here I am working away at my art biz but feeling a bit blinded by all the information. I started work in an intuitive art ebook but now have enough for a full book. I am so big Picture that the more information I find, the bigger I get and it’s not long before I hit overwhelm. I know that I need to narrow my focus.
I want to attract people who are interested in the spiritual, intuitive art process but where do I begin and what do I do next. Even writing this list reminds me of how important it is to check in with my inner guidance at each stage. It is so easy to get busy doing that we forget to connect with our inner guidance. This doing for the sake of doing is limiting as we end up with no clear direction but lots of stuff. I’m pretty sure this is where overwhelm lives. So that night in bed, I checked in with my inner guide and the idea of this list came up. I had to get up and write my list if I was ever going to get to sleep. The question I asked myself was, what would my audience be interested in and what could I make to give them? The intuitive nudges can be very persistent when they come. I wrote the list without the detailed info but that was all I needed to do to set up the framework for this free resource downloadable.
Last night I was guided to create a top 10 list (which quickly became a top 20 list by the time morning arrived) of ways to awaken the artist’s soul. I’m really pleased that it has come together so quickly and sets the basis of what I am about as an artist. I feel inspired to do a similar list for intuition as this intuitive connection is central to everything I do and create. I want to set up a resources page and this gets me thinking smaller. Starting with a list is a manageable strategy to begin with. The next step is to create the book cover so on my site it looks professional. This will take more research I know but I feel so much closer. In fact as soon as I do the cover, I will have the completed downloadable. I’m feeling a little excited by this as it feels like I have finally got the idea.
Found a book cover app and I’m away so it’s time to share. I know it’s a long post and it will become an ebook as a next step so it’s easily downloadable. Love to get some feedback.

20 ways to awaken your intuitive artist’s soul

1/ Set an intention:
As an artist you need to have an idea of some sort or a beginning place. An intuitive artist may have a set idea for an image that they intend to create but the intention also holds the openness to choose again within the creation process. Your intention may also be as simple as the desire to play and see what happens. Intentions at their core are flexible when used as part of the intuitive art process.

2/ Be inspired:
You have an idea that is flowing naturally for you and so you paint or draw or layer. Often it helps to check resources to gain understanding of the details. Perhaps you want to look at eyes in profile to ensure you get the correct details or perhaps you want to see how other artists have done similar things, search it out and look at all the possible directions. Once you have taken it in and have a sense of what you love, continue creating and trust your inner guidance. Be inspired and keep going as there will always be more to explore. Find your reference information and keep going. Take what you love and make it your own.q

3/ Ask what do I already know?:
We all have a wealth of knowledge that we draw on to support our understanding of the world. This is no different when it comes to our art. Begin by defining what you already know. Get out a pen and paper and start listing your knowledge on the topic you are exploring. You may be surprised by how much you already know.

4/ Compare
When we create anything we need to be able to gain a sense of wether it is working or not. We all want our art to look good even if we know in our hearts it is about the process and the journey. There are really 2 points in this section:
a) Don’t compare yourself to other artists…that is not the comparison I mean here. Start by comparing you to you. What were you doing 6 months ago that has changed. Can you measure your own progress and see how far you have come
b) Does your art piece work? Do you like it? Rather than looking for what does not work, start to look for areas you love. Ask yourself what is working in this area. I like that bit because….Compare this area you love to other sections of the art piece and then grow this area into the rest of your art work.


5/ Break the rules…everything is a guideline

Whatever you know now and whatever you have been told about art and how to be a good artist are just guidelines. There are no rules as you are the creator so it is your choice to choose and choose again until your art work feels complete. I will repeat this to ensure that it sinks in. There are no rules, no right and wrongs in art. Forget the rules and remember the guidelines are yours to choose and explore.

6/ Never stop learning:
One of the greatest joys in art for me is that I will never know it all and I will never stop learning. This means wherever you are right now is exactly where you are meant to be. Art is a learning playground of possibilities. There are so many ways to learn online. I often surf YouTube to extend my knowledge base on a particular material or technique. A new material is an opportunity to learn through explorative play and then explore what others have done and continue learning throughout the process.

7/ Practice:
If you want to get better at anything you need to practice your skills. There is so much to learn so just keep exploring and practicing the skills you have learnt and your understanding will naturally grow. There is no secret to improving a skill. You practice until you are satisfied and then as your understanding grows you realise there is always something new to practice to take you to the next level.

8/ Have fun:
We are here on this planet to have fun and enjoy the experience so as long as we are coming from a place of love. Choose what makes you happy and the more you do this the more you are connected to your inner wise self and the wealth of intuitive guidance. If you love art and it brings you joy, do more of it.

9/ Wonder and gratitude
An artist is a curious soul who looks at the world as if for the first time. Look in wonder and be curious about everything and you will naturally find your gratitude rising to the surface. This space of wonder and gratitude raises your vibration and helps you tune into your intuition.

10/ Art as life
Be okay with what your doing right now. Wether you are making art, thinking about doing art or doing something totally different, just be okay with wherever you are. Art and life have a way of connecting together. Life lived as art is an aware life that savours the moments and enjoys who and where we are now. Be enough and don’t be hard on yourself for not doing. Be open and allow yourself to be loved and guided wherever you are.

11/ Make art play date
Find room in your life for art because you know you are worth it. A simple way to do this is to set an art play date. Mark it on your calendar as a dedicated time. If asked to do something else, you can honestly say that you have an appointment. You have an appointment with yourself and you deserve it.

12/ Connect emotionally

Intuitive art is all about that emotional connection. What are you feeling and what do you want to say? What does your gut tell you and does it feel right or wrong? Are you asking questions to your inner wise self and are you paying attention and listening to the answers? Our feelings are our emotional guidance system that informs us each step of the way but we need to ask what our feelings mean and be ready to hear the answer. As artists we are able to paint and create our way through our feelings and find understanding. The questions us are you listening to this guidance that is always there or are you ignoring your feelings. As an intuitive artist you need to start tuning in and responding to the information you receive. Does it make you happy, sad, excited, scared etc…what is the feeling telling you. Is the colour right or should I choose another? Keep asking questions when a feeling arises. Name the feeling and then if you are unsure what it means ask your inner guide. This is an easy beginning point for you to connect with your intuition.

13/ Be unique
Do it your way and think outside the box. There is no one else like you and never will be. You are unique and the art you create only exists because of you. Allow yourself to be unapologetically who you are. Let your art be a natural extension of you and allow the feelings that you want to express to come through your art. Dr Seuss said it so well so do take note of his life lessons.

5 lessons-Dr Seuss

Love Dr Sues…so inspiring

14/ Do what you love
You are alive and in this amazing world. Wether you believe it is for one lifetime or many , the point is to make this lifetime amazing. To do this you need to do what you love. If you are reading this p, I am guessing that art is one of the things that makes you happy. This is your life, do it your way and do what you love whenever and wherever you can. Don’t play small as this is your stage and it’s your opening to whatever you choose to create. Go and create the masterpiece of your life by being what you love. When you do and be what you love then life attracts possibilities and joy to you and you are the best you, you can be.

 

15/Take risks:
When you take a risk, you know that you open up to all sorts of possibilities. Some may be good and some not so good and there are so many possible outcomes. In fact the truth is if you don’t take risks, then you just stay where you are and keep repeating the same patterns because life is a risk and an opportunity at every turn. The only other alternative is to do nothing. So many things can happen and it gets scary but I’m here to tell you that it’s time to start a new conversation and allow yourself make some different choices. Risks can be seen as scary or terrifying or they can be exciting and exhilarating. Your mind believes what you tell it so please start telling it what you want it to give you. When I’m creating my art I know from experience that if I do not take risks and try new things, then I won’t keep learning. I can’t keep doing what I know and evolve and grow. In fact at the moment I am in the middle of a steep learning curve which means that I am reworking a number of paintings that I had considered complete. I could have let them be as I had already published some of them but my intuition said ‘change it’ so I did. I am learning and growing because I took a risk. A risk means that you give up something to try something new. This is a continual adventure when working with the intuitive art process as it is layered and requires trust.


16/ Trust your intuition

This for me is the big one as a person and an artist. Trust has always been such an important word but I really wasn’t sure why I gave it such power. I now realise that it was about my need to develop self trust. Intuition is all about havering trust in your own inner guidance and acting on it. Now it doesn’t matter what you name this guidance as the end result is the same. Faith requires trust and so you need to trust that your intuition ( God, Goddess, the Universe, Love etc) will guide you safely and that it is okay to act and that no harm will come of it. To create intuitive art, you need to allow yourself to find that deep space of inner trust. This is self love at its purest as you can not truly trust yourself until you are ready to trust yourself. This is why intuitive art is such a healing process.

17/ Pay attention
Life is full of moments and hopefully many of those have magic in them and take your breath away. The way to find your inner artist soul is to pay attention to all the small moments around you and to really begin to know that life, like art is in the details.

18/ Ask questions…always ask
Questions are key to creativity so start by writing your own list of questions. Your inner guidance is there waiting but if you want answers then you have to start asking. Then ask the same question again and again until you peel back the layers of what you thought you knew. The answers will keep getting deeper until you feel complete and you have opened a path for your intuition to guide you.
What do I really want to do?
What is my artwork about?
Do I trust myself?
What would it take for me to be an artist?


19/ Just begin…spaces for art

It is time to let go of all the excuses and just begin. You are worth it and you know you deserve to gift yourself this time for art. Art doesn’t have to take a lot of time. You can create in small pockets of time. Carry a small visual diary and draw in a lunch break, or when waiting for an appointment. There are always spaces where you can allow art in. Start to be aware of the spaces for art in your life and begin filling them with your art. Start anywhere you like but just begin. You don’t need a studio or even a dedicated art space (although that us always nice) just a pencil and paper and you are ready to begin.


20/ Be a story teller

Art is about stories and there are so many stories to share. Let your art be the story you share as people love a good story. What’s your story? What do you love? What is your art about? Start a new story today as you connect with your intuition and let your inner guidance open you to trust yourself as an artist storyteller.

Connect

Enjoy each moment and be the adventure

Love and blessings,

Cheryle

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