How to get out of the way and let the art flow

Cheryl Cattarin had not so much picked up a paintbrush since high school when she found herself in front of an easel.

Art wasn’t even on the radar, “I had the belief I wasn’t capable of doing art,” the meditation and reiki instructor says after being told in high school her art “was ok but not very good”.

When her daughter invited her to an intuitive art class in 2016, Cheryl loved the process, discovering the unstructured genre complemented her meditative practices perfectly.

Now she teaches intuitive art, running wellbeing workshops implementing her meditation skills to guide participants into a mindful state to help unlock creativity.

The meditation at the beginning of the workshops helps the breathing to slow down, and the thinking to be more controlled so that the participant feels calm, Cheryl says.

“It’s a nice way of helping people relax without them really noticing they are doing it.”

Once people feel relaxed, play and creativity comes out.

Intuitive art is about free expression and inner guidance, not working within parameters set by a genre. The free-flowing process where the art forms naturally and progressively “allows people to stop judging themselves and comparing their work to others”.  

Cheryl often runs her intuitive art workshops at the Imaginarium in Shellharbour Village. Self-discovery naturally follows when participants are creating from the heart.  

“One lady who took one of my workshops painted a beach scene," Cheryl said. "She didn’t realise throughout that was what she was painting, but by the end when the work was complete, she wasn’t surprised the process had taken her in that direction as it was her intention to live by the beach in the future.

“Intuitive art is a developing process. Working with acrylic and ink, the result is a fluid, slow-moving art piece. Wet ink on a canvas – move it around so it creates an image. Lines forming on a canvas can then turn the work into something completely different.”

Cheryl is a member of The Shellharbour City Arts Society. Her work will be part of the Shellharbour City Art Society Exhibition at the Old Fire Station in Kiama, from April 30 to May 6. Follow Cheryl on Facebook or Instagram.