It's All About the NOW, Not the Afterthought

Recently, I spent a few hours returning to a painting in process. As I began, I was aware of feeling good about it’s current state of being and also a clarity that the work was incomplete. I had an idea of how it could be developed. So, I played with color and paint, made the changes that were calling to me. One area at a time, one color at a time, one brush stroke at a time, applying paint and moving color around as I like. I was in the flow, I was experiencing each moment. AND that is what it’s all about. I was there with the colors and the paint. And the minutes and hours flew by.

It’s in the experience of the creative process where the magic happens.

When I was about to walk away, I was aware that I thought less of the canvas than when I began just hours before. And rather than feeling disappointed in my efforts, I was immediately lit up by the idea that I get to keep playing with this canvas and seeing where it goes next. So, why am I sharing this experience with you?

Because the next morning I got in my head and my thoughts traveled to other places: “Did I ruin it?” “How can I possibly make it work now that I made those changes?” “I wish I could erase the changes in order to get it back to where it was yesterday.” 

But here’s the thing… I was in the moment while painting. That morning, my thoughts were in the past and in the future, not in the presence of what was before me. I was not present here and now. The beauty of creating anything is how the process draws us into the present moment. We flow from moment to moment, engaged in something that makes time seem to become nonexistent. That presence in action can be a magical portal to something other than our everyday existence. It transports us into being right Here and Now. 

It’s easy to second guess ourselves after the fact, but spending time and energy on the past doesn’t do anything to support us. That was then and this is NOW. 

For me, years of experience as an artist have taught me to trust my ability to move almost any canvas to something I can feel good about in the end. Every step perceived as a misstep, is an opportunity. It is an opportunity to learn something new and take a painting in an unexpected direction.

That being said… my trust, knowing, and experience does not stop my thoughts from going to unhelpful places at times.

Notice your thoughts. Are they re-litigating the past? Are they bringing up future concerns? What creative activity would you love to immerse yourself in to experience the here and now?

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Awareness in the Creative Process
Art as Meditation

Awareness in the Creative Process

There’s something magical about being so very present within the creative process that one’s awareness is heightened. To notice the way your body is positioned as you create, to experience the flow of energy moving through you, to feel the tools you are using within your hands and finger tips.

To be so in the moment of the creative process, that development of a project moves ahead effortlessly, with clarity for the next step and the next. It’s as if you are an observer in the process, watching something take shape.

All at once, you become both creator and observer. A knowing arises that you are not in this alone. It’s as if your hands are being guided, your next steps are being shown, and you begin to feel the co-creative nature of this process. And the more your awareness grows, the more you may find yourself tuning in, and becoming present to, and aligned with the flow of energy within you. 

Do you relate to this scenario? What has been your experience?

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Art as Meditation

Art as Meditation

A couple of years ago, I saw a thread of conversation between artists on instagram on the subject of meditation. Most of the comments were in the same vain… they spoke about having trouble meditating and the inability to get a meditation practice going, stating one reason or another. I didn’t engage in the conversation at the time but it seemed clear they had a limited idea of what meditation could be.

As a long time meditator, my initial thought was that creating art in itself is, or could be, a form of meditation. Many meditation practices involve following the breath in order to bring you into the present moment while observing and letting go of thoughts as they arise. Those thoughts generally tend to carry you on a visit to the past or a journey into the future.

But when we create art we are doing so in the moment. With every brush stroke, every choice of color, texture, and use of materials, we are in the present moment. You often hear that the big gifts can be found in the process, rather than the end results or finished product. When we focus on the process we are in the now and it’s in the now that we find our joy and delight as artists. It’s not the finished artwork that keeps drawing us back to the creative process, it’s the act of creating that keeps artists engaged.

The process of creating art is an experience in the moment. So, in effect, it can easily be a meditative practice. In every part of that process, we have a choice of being fully present with our materials, breathing into the experience, and letting go of the world outside our studio space. Each moment of the art process is a gift and opportunity to be present with our developing creations, to observe the feelings that arise with each stage of that development, whether it be joy and delight, or frustration and angst.

When we experience the messy middle, it’s likely that our minds have wandered away from the here and now and carried us to thoughts or concerns of the finished piece. We may want to hold onto a part, or all, of what we’ve accomplished so far, without messing it up. Although that can take us out of the moment, being present with those feelings and observing our flow of thoughts, without getting caught in them, can become part of our process. This offers us greater awareness of how we internally process our creative flow.

Back in the 1980’s I did a full week intensive class in meditation. We were taught to focus on our breath. When thoughts came into mind, to label them “thinking,” letting them go, and then returning to the breath. In any given moment, an artist can shift from wherever the mind has wandered to being with their creation in the now. It is a dance we can have with our tools and materials, shifting back to the current brushstroke, or pencil mark, ink splatter, sculpted element, etc. Art can so easily be your meditation practice. And many are already engaged in that practice whether they have labeled it so, or not.

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Art: A Divine Connection
Morning Meditation Paintings
Meditation on Rain

Meditation on Rain

A section of one of the Morning Meditation Paintings (No. 10)

I was in the middle of meditating (after waking up way too early) when the rain began to come down so powerfully hard and loud. I had just been in that place within me where I often find myself… surrounded by the landscape yet above the landscape, unfettered by gravity, rising above but somehow merged with the whole of oneness energy. A peaceful, whole, safe, oneness.

Then it began to pour and I had a momentary question that arose… of being with the sound of the rain or going back to where I was. The answer was, the sound is the now, in this moment. The earlier moments were in that oneness but now the whole was in the sound. The sound as a sound without meaning or expectation. Can I separate the sound of the rain from my years of understanding of what that sound means? Can I separate the sound from the visuals I carry of what is happening outside the room’s French doors… on the deck? On the roof? Am I able to just be with the sound without the anticipation of the raindrops to come immediately after this very moment of sound? And the next? Am I able to experience this moment without my knowledge of what rain is, the benefits of what it can do for the earth, and separate from my personal history with rain?

There was nothing to think of, to understand, to know about the rain except… In this moment it just is! Then the breath, the movement of my abdomen, and the sound of the rain merged into the moment.  The sound was no longer separate but part of the whole of the now. Then an awareness of the feeling of the cloth from my shirt on my belly, at the furthest point of the outbreath, became part of the mix.

You may be interested in reading about the Morning Meditation Paintings.

Morning Meditation Paintings

“Morning Meditation No. 1” 5-1/2” x 6”. Mixed media in sketchbook

A couple of months ago I began a Morning Meditation painting practice. This quickly became my favorite way to start the day, as it filled me with a wonderful sense of peace and a lightness of being. Each session became a vehicle for tuning my awareness (aka mindfulness). This practice is now something I am continuing as a gift to myself.

“Morning Meditation No. 5” 5-1/2” x 6”. Mixed media in sketchbook

The original focus was on simplicity and flow… working first thing in the morning, as a meditative process, mostly with background music, sometimes in silence. The process is the focus, not whether I liked the piece or not, not whether it feels finished or not.

THE PROCESS: Starting with a limited palette of acrylics (black, white, and a premixed blue-green). Adding some other bits of color and scribbles with pencil and colored pencil. Including collaged paper shapes because they happened to be scattered on the work table from prior sketchbook paintings. And… Since the sewing machine was on the nearby table, stitches were added to some of the paintings when it felt right, and because… why not?

“Morning Meditation No. 13” 6” x 8-1/4”. Mixed media on paper

I have so appreciated the quiet color palette on these pieces, especially after the fairly loud year we had in 2020 and the tumultuous beginning to 2021. I felt the need to tone things down for a bit, and the subtle touches of color add to the peaceful experience. It’s likely more color will be added as I continue to produce these pieces (or maybe not).

I have embraced the meditative painting process. In fact, just thinking of my morning experiences, gives me a wonderful feeling of Ahhhhh! I feel as though these painting meditations are carrying me forward towards the ME I am becoming. There seems to be an internal process taking place and a preparation at work. And… my love of the process has me fully committed and engaged.

“Morning Meditation No. 4” 5-1/2” x 6”. Mixed media in sketchbook

“Morning Meditation No. 2” 5-1/2” x 6”. Mixed media in sketchbook

You may also be interested in Love: a Morning Practice or Joy: a Morning Ritual.