What Is Intuition Painting®?

A Beginner’s Guide

At first glance, Intuition Painting® looks deceptively simple: paint, brush, canvas. But beneath the surface lives a profound process — one that is best experienced with facilitation — that can quiet the inner critic, reconnect you with your body’s wisdom, and help you meet yourself with honesty and care. Think less about making a picture and more about allowing the painting to reveal you.

This guide isn’t meant to walk you through the process on your own. Intuition Painting® unfolds in a facilitated setting where safety and depth are held. What follows is an overview to help you glimpse the six phases of the methodology and understand the kind of impact this work can have in your life.

The Six-Phase Journey

Intuition Painting® unfolds in six distinct phases. Together, they create a structure that allows your creativity and emotions to move freely, without judgment:

The six phases are:

  1. Center

  2. Let Go

  3. Connect

  4. Reveal

  5. Transform

  6. Embody

Phase One: Center

Every Intuition Painting® session begins with Centering. Before color or brush touches the page, we ground ourselves in the body. Centering is about arriving — letting the nervous system settle, releasing excess energy, and opening to the present moment.


A 10-Minute Exercise to Try: 
Paint as If You Will Burn It

One way to glimpse the spirit of Centering is through this short practice. The next time you feel a strong emotion — anger, grief, fear, or even overwhelming joy — try this:

  1. Grab any paper in front of you: a sheet of newspaper, scrap paper, fresh paper, or even the back of an envelope.

  2. Choose a utensil that lets you really bear down: crayons, a ballpoint pen, charcoal, markers, or even your fingers dipped in paint.

  3. Set a timer for 10 minutes.

  4. Begin moving as fast as you can, as if the raw energy of your emotion is pouring straight from your fingertips onto the page. Don’t pause to think or judge — just move.

  5. Notice what has shifted in you as you continue — your breath, your posture, your energy.

  6. When you feel fully expressed (or when the timer ends), pause. See if any words, phrases, or insights arise that want to be remembered or held by you. Write them down before you return to your day.

  7. If it feels right, you can even burn or destroy the paper afterward — letting the expression itself complete in release.

This is not the full process of Intuition Painting®, but it offers a taste of Phase One: Center. Even in a short burst, you may notice how quickly energy can move and how your body and mind can settle back into calm.

Why This “Simple” Practice Can Feel So Big

  • Quiet the Inner Critic: Practice noticing fear without obeying it.

  • Emotional Processing: Color and gesture can move what words cannot.

  • Nervous System Support: Expressive mark-making paired with breath helps restore balance.

  • Creative Renewal: You begin rebuilding trust in your own voice — on canvas and in life.

What’s Next

This practice is only a beginning. In the coming months, I’ll introduce you to the entire six-phase journey of Intuition Painting®, where each step opens new possibilities for creativity, healing, and self-discovery.

Our next stop: How to Put Your Inner Critic On Vacation While Creating Art.

Intuition Painting® is a facilitated process. This article is here to help you understand its potential — the true depth unfolds when you’re supported in session or retreat. Come paint with me →

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