The Painting Path: Embodying Spiritual Discovery through Yoga, Brush and Color

by Linda Novick, Richard Segalman (Foreword by)

Overview

Discover the creativity that lies hidden within you—and express it!

"Painting—because it is such a flexible and adaptable form of art—gives us unparalleled freedom to express what we are feeling. Through colors, forms, lines, even fabrics, we can tap into our deepest emotions and thoughts; we can access our very source. Given this opportunity, we unburden our spirits and are freed to express ourselves."
—from the Introduction

What can you learn about yourself through painting? How can a piece of artwork reflect your own personality, beliefs and values? How can touching brush to canvas help you portray something about yourself that is otherwise inexpressible?

Delve into these questions and more in this imaginative, creative resource. Professional artist and beloved teacher Linda Novick leads you on an exploration of the divine connection you can experience through art. Each chapter includes a simple yoga-inspired breathing and stretching exercise to focus your mind and refresh your body, along with an original art project that helps you explore a theme essential to both your creativity and your spirituality. Whether you're a painting novice or an accomplished artist, no matter your faith and background, this engaging book has a place for you. Experience the joy of unbridled creativity!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781683364108
Publisher:	TURNER PUB CO
Publication date:	10/01/2007
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	7.20(w) x 10.10(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Linda Novick frequently leads painting and yoga retreats in the United States and abroad. She is a professional artist who has been teaching painting to students of all levels for over forty years. A past president of Hudson River Watercolor Society, she owned the Company Hill Gallery in Kingston, New York, for fifteen years. She is also a popular yoga teacher at Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health in Lenox, Massachusetts.

Linda Novick is available to speak on the following topics:

• How to Access Spirituality Using Yoga and Painting
• Finding Peace through the Practice of Painting
• Finding Your Inner Artist: Exploring Art Materials Using Yoga and Movement
• Using Yoga to Access Creativity and Spirituality
• Painting Is Fun: Loosen Up with Yoga

Richard Segalman is an accomplished painter equally adept at four different media—pastel, watercolor, monotype and oil. He is represented in more than thirty museum permanent collections, including the Corcoran Gallery of Art, the Hirshhorn Museum, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and has held annual solo exhibitions of his work since 1982.

Table of Contents

Foreword
Introduction

1. Remembering Your Artist Self: Playful Experimentation with Oil Pastels
2. What's Real? Looking beneath the Surface with Drawing
3. Getting in Touch: Discovering What We Really Want with Watercolors
4. Your Circle of Power: Rediscovering Your Authentic Vision with Resist
5. Stepping Back: Cultivating Witness Consciousness Using Soft Pastels
6. Staying Flexible: Practicing Improvisation with Liquefying Pastels
7. Purposeful Direction: Practicing Beginner's Mind with Batik
8. Uncovering Your Dreams: Discovering the Power of Images through Collage
9. But Does It Look Like Me? Practicing Nonjudgment with Self-Portrait
10. Listening to Our Intuition: Nurturing Courage through Oil Paints
11. The Stories We Tell: Reinterpreting Our Lives through Painted Autobiography

Conclusion: The Painting Path Continues
Resources

Editorial Reviews

With a style reminiscent of Julia Cameron, Novick, a professional painter, former gallery owner and yoga master, presents painting not only as an art form but as a vehicle of spiritual exploration. She's clearly taught before. Chapters flow easily, dotted and crossed with inspired quotations from sages, artists and writers, as well as anecdotes and observations from her own experience. Materials lists are precise enough for beginners but contain plenty of options for more experienced artists. Most impressive of all are the simple descriptions of the yoga exercises, something not easy to accomplish in writing. Only an enclosed CD with yoga instructions could have made this part of the book more perfect. Full-color examples of each of the increasingly more complex painting projects provide students with even more encouragement. This is not a paint-by-numbers guide to God. The spirituality comes from within the artist, as techniques of painting and pose become more developed. Novick's encouraging tone coupled with a penchant for expansive definition-painting to her encompasses everything from oil and soft pastels to actual watercolor and oil paints; spirit includes belief in a higher being whether named as God or not-makes room for a wide audience. (Dec.)

Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information

Publishers Weekly

"A wonderfully potent potpourri of technique, direction and spiritual discovery."
—Art Times (Marion, NY)

"A wonderful mix of spiritual insight and artistic rigor.... A fresh recipe for artistic development tinged with a yogic fragrance."
—Staats Fasoldt, artist and director, Woodstock School of Art

“Chapters flow easily.... Materials lists are precise enough for beginners but contain plenty of options for more experienced artists.... Impressive.... Encouraging.”
—Publishers Weekly

“Draws you into yourself with both playfulness and surprising depth. With artistic exercises, body-mind centered practices and contemplative questions, I couldn't wait to get started.”
—Rasmani Deborah Orth, Ed.D., senior workshop programmer, Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health

“A playful, imaginative resource ... like a fantastic painting workshop with a wonderful teacher.... Easy to follow ... filled with inspiration and surprisingly deep awareness.”
—Spirit of Change

“Accessible and engaging ... draws a unique connection between painting and yoga. The projects ground the body and stimulate the mind while nurturing the spirit. A highly recommended tool for creative self-discovery!”
—Cory Richardson-Lauve, author, The Scrapbooking Journey: A Hands-On Guide to Spiritual Discovery

“Attractive.... Recommended.”
—Catholic Library World

“Kindles the spirit and summons the muse for whole-hearted self-expression. Warm and inviting, this is a book for everyone who has ever longed to journey the painting path.”
—Karen Arp-Sandel, artist educator, Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health and IS183 Art School of the Berkshires

“A great way to integrate the heart and soul. [Presents] clear explanations and draws similarities between seemingly diverse concepts. There is no better way to realize that we have all the tools within us to understand the world around us.”
—Michael Mele, director, Il Chiostro arts workshops

“A gentle, effective guide to the power of creating art. It's already helped me see things in a new way.”
—Linda Skolnik, coauthor, The Knitting Way: A Guide to Spiritual Self-Discovery

From the Publisher