Art From the Body

The second picture I did in the Painting Alive! class I took (see June 9th’s post for details).  Much less thought, more just painting from intuition and body.

Painting makes me happier than anything else I do.  I believe it’s the wordless state that I get in, something so rare for me.  And I feel.  I’m hoping my body someday will feel like a safe place.  The physical world has always been a challenge. Perhaps due to left-handedness, a difficult birth, parents who hated their own bodies and obsessed with safety.  I’m not sure it matters anymore, but negotiating the physical was the hardest part of growing up.  Sometimes walking and talking is hard (really), or knowing which hand to use.  I break the lead of every mechanical pencil I’ve ever used.  Yoga makes me edgy. But when I paint, I feel my heart open, my head clear, and I feel free.