What is Intuitive Painting?
Intuitive painting is a method of creating visual art in which the painter follows internal impulses—sensations, emotions, and spontaneous urges—rather than executing a preconceived plan or replicating external subjects. Intuitive art is a method of creating art that emerges from a relationship between an artist and their intuition. The practice emphasizes process over product: each mark, color choice, and compositional decision arises responsively from the painting itself, from the painter’s body, or from what is felt in the moment. Intuitive painting is the process of allowing each layer of paint inform what comes next. Unlike traditional representational painting that begins with sketches and aims for accurate depiction, intuitive painting unfolds without a fixed endpoint, often involving layering, covering up, and radical shifts in direction.
Origins & Lineage
The philosophical groundwork for intuitive art extends back centuries. Intuitive art has roots in the surrealist, abstract expressionist and art therapy movements. Inspired by the work of the psychiatrist, Carl Jung, many intuitive artists strive to use art making as a way to connect to their subconscious mind. Surrealist automatism in the 1920s encouraged artists to bypass conscious control and access unconscious imagery. One of its primary influences was Jackson Pollock’s drip painting technique, which involved flinging paint onto a horizontal surface, covering the entire canvas and using the full force of his body to paint. Abstract expressionism in the 1940s–1950s championed spontaneity, gesture, and emotional discharge, with painters like Pollock, Helen Frankenthaler, and Willem de Kooning foregrounding the act of painting itself.
The contemporary movement now commonly termed “intuitive painting” coalesced in the United States beginning in the 1970s. In the 1970’s, psychotherapist and feminist Chris Zydel was a part of the explosion of innovation we now call somatics and expressive arts. Chris spent many years studying a dynamic mix of cutting-edge practices, including Person Centered Expressive Arts with Natalie Rogers, Process Painting with Michelle Cassou founder of The Painting Experience, The Enneagram of Personality with Kathy Speeth and Evolutionary Astrology with Steven and Jodie Forrest. Michele Cassou (1942–2023), a French-born painter, developed what she called the Point Zero method and founded The Painting Experience, teaching process-oriented painting workshops at Esalen and internationally from the 1970s onward. Michele is known internationally for her groundbreaking work in stimulating the creative potential, dissolving creative blocks and exploring the spiritual dimensions of the creative process. She is the author of almost a dozen books including Point Zero, Creativity Without Limits, Life Paint and Passion, Reclaiming the Magic of Spontaneous Expression, Kids Play, Igniting Children’s Creativity and her most recent book, Painting Between Worlds. She is the original founder of the Painting Experience. The intuitive painting movement became popular in the United States after the publication of several books on intuitive art were published in 2008 and 2012. Flora Bowley’s Brave Intuitive Painting (2012) became a bestseller and introduced the practice to a wide audience. Released in May 2012, Brave Intuitive Painting has sold over 80,000 copies worldwide. Honored as the #1 selling painting book on Amazon for a month after its release, this groundbreaking book presents a soulful and transformational approach to painting (and living) that celebrates intuition, connects body, mind and spirit and begs you to be brave!
A parallel lineage exists in Europe through Arno Stern (1924–2024), a German-born educator who in 1946 began facilitating what he termed Painting-Play (Jeu de Peindre) with war orphans in France. In 1946, at the age of 22, he entered an institution for war orphans. He got the children painting, and immediately understood the primordial role of the play inspired by this activity, for which he created an original environment. Stern created the Closlieu, an enclosed studio designed to free participants from judgment, and developed Expression Semiology to study universal patterns in spontaneous mark-making. While Stern’s practice focused on non-artistic, universal expression rather than finished paintings, his work shares intuitive painting’s emphasis on process, presence, and freedom from external evaluation.
How It’s Practiced
Intuitive painters typically work in acrylics on canvas or heavy paper, though any medium is viable. Sessions often begin without a subject in mind. The painter makes an initial mark—a color, a line, a shape—and then responds to what appears. I create large-scale acrylic paintings using a spontaneous and soulful process that relies heavily on intuitive mark making, layering, trusting and feeling more than thinking. The practice involves stepping back frequently, softening the gaze, and asking internal questions: What is working? What wants to happen next? What color calls to me? Painters layer, obscure earlier passages, scrape, drip, and collage. Flora S. Bowley’s fun and forgiving approach to painting is based on the notion that “You don’t begin with a preconceived painting in mind; you allow the painting to unfold.” Illustrating how to work in layers, Flora gives you the freedom to cover up, re-start, wipe away, and change courses many times along the way.
Many teachers incorporate somatic practices—breath work, movement, meditation—to help painters drop from the analytical mind into felt sense. Music, journaling, and intention-setting may precede painting sessions. The environment is typically non-judgmental and non-competitive; paintings are not critiqued for technical skill or aesthetic merit. It is rare for most people to use painting for its qualities of inner adventure and self-discovery, to paint purely for the process of exploration, not for the result. The purpose of this workshop is to provide a setting to explore the self through painting, to discover in form and color a powerful tool for uncovering and dissolving blocks to emotional and spiritual expression.
Intuitive Painting Today
Intuitive painting is now encountered in several contexts. Multi-day residential retreats—often held in locations like Bali, Mexico, or retreat centers such as Esalen—immerse participants in intensive painting alongside yoga, nature walks, and group reflection. Online courses and membership communities provide video demonstrations, prompts, and peer forums; Flora Bowley’s FREE FLO community and Michele Cassou’s legacy workshops remain prominent examples. Drop-in studio sessions modeled on Arno Stern’s Closlieu offer weekly practice spaces in cities worldwide. Art therapy programs and expressive arts training integrate intuitive methods. Books, YouTube tutorials, and social media hashtags (#intuitiveart, #processpainting) disseminate techniques to independent practitioners. Intuitive painting attracts hobbyists seeking creative play, former art students recovering from academic rigor, therapists and coaches integrating art into healing work, and professional artists exploring new approaches.
Common Misconceptions
Intuitive painting is not the same as automatic drawing or trance states. Practitioners remain conscious and present; the “intuition” invoked is attentive awareness, not channeling or dissociation. It is not exclusively abstract; representational imagery often emerges spontaneously within an intuitive process. It does not require innate talent or prior training; teachers explicitly welcome beginners and emphasize that technical skill is unnecessary. It is not art therapy in the clinical sense, though therapeutic benefits are common; facilitators are typically artists or workshop leaders, not licensed therapists (unless separately credentialed). Intuitive painting is not a shortcut to sellable work or gallery exhibition; while some practitioners do sell their paintings, the practice de-emphasizes external validation and market success. Finally, it is not a codified technique with fixed rules—methods vary widely among teachers, and each painter’s process is unique.
How to Begin
Start with materials: acrylic paints (a basic set of primary colors plus white), a canvas or heavyweight paper (16×20" or larger encourages bold gestures), assorted brushes, a palette knife, rags, and water. Set a timer for 30–60 minutes and commit to staying with the painting for the duration, resisting the urge to judge or quit prematurely. Make one mark—any mark—and then pause to notice your response. Continue responding: if a shape wants an echo, paint it; if a color feels wrong, layer over it. Step back frequently. Notice what draws your eye. Expect discomfort; the practice involves tolerating uncertainty and releasing attachment to beauty or “success.” Read Flora Bowley’s Brave Intuitive Painting or Michele Cassou’s Life Paint and Passion for philosophical grounding and practical exercises. Consider joining an online course (Bowley’s FREE FLO or similar communities) or attending a local drop-in studio. Allow yourself dozens of paintings before expecting clarity or style; many teachers suggest completing 100 pieces to move past self-consciousness. The practice is iterative: each painting teaches the next.