Brave Intuitive Painting

 September 2013, not long after I found out I was pregnant with our second son, I purchased Flora Bowley's book Brave Intuitive Painting. I stumbled upon her work on Pinterest and had been in love with her work and intrigued with her process.  

So, one free afternoon while my 16 month old was at his grandma's, I decided to try Flora's approach on for size. 

Downloaded some new music to fill the empty spare bedroom, plopped a variety of colors on an old Rubbermaid lid and just painted, with no direction, forethought, or goal in site. And it was a joy!! 

Here was my first couple marks: 

And it evolved to this: 

And eventually grew to this: 

The next afternoon I felt up to painting, someone else decided he was up to painting as well and refused to nap, so he joined in the fun. 

I let the painting sit for a few days and walked past it everyday looking at spots that I loved and seeing if imagery jumped out at me. After flipping it a few times I realized that my tree that I had first made had morphed into a bird.

Honestly, the painting could have found an end pretty easily on this path but I wasn't feeling like it was me. So on I went with the mark making, off and on for months during my pregnancy.

Until one day in February, she emerged while I was 7 months pregnant with a lively 20 month old boy!!!

She was finally finished a few months after I popped. 

Needless to say I NEVER thought I'd paint a bare breasted woman reaching for the sky, but after sitting back and listening to my heart I realized this is exactly something from me. I painted this the entire length of my pregnancy and that whole time I was working on releasing the fear of childbirth because my first experience had been horrid. I see this beauty now as embracing birth, knowing there is a precious life on the other side of the madness. And he is.