What is Process Painting?

Some people speak of a sudden event that forever alters the way in which they perceive the world, including who they are in it. Others seek out extreme situations that tax their bodies and minds in order to break down and hopefully break free. But for most of us the journey home is a series of close approaches to and seeming retreats from the unfathomable mystery held within our own present experience.

The opportunity that process painting offers is to fully inhabit the moment right now just as it is. It’s a practice that requires us to drop the insane rush toward the imagined goal and to discover being at home with ourselves. The transformation that occurs when we touch our creative essence is nothing short of miraculous. There’s an expansiveness in which the circumstances of our lives are held differently, and our world appears in its potential rather than it’s limitation. For a moment at least, we perceive the incredible mystery of existence, and we know what it means to accept our place in the scheme of things.

There is no formula by which the creative impulse will manifest in any individual’s life, but its birth requires a clear environment for exploration. First, there needs to be a safe, supportive space in which we can begin to escape the tyranny of expectation and let down the defenses we’ve erected around our own deep listening. Next is the courage to look at those areas where we’re challenged, to stand our ground when we come to the edge. And then there’s the integration, where we set down the brush and take up the task of living. For the painting process is but a metaphor, its purpose is to lift us beyond the palette and to meet our lives with fresh eyes.

~ Stewart Cubley

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