The Sacred Brush: A Comparison of Intuitive Painting and Intuition Painting®
While I wasn’t raised with art, creativity, or painting being a focus—or even really encouraged—I fell in love with it late in life. It arrived quietly at first, as a coping skill for burnout, frustration, trauma, and the emotional unraveling that followed my divorce, almost 20 years ago. What began as a way to survive became something sacred. Now, painting is part of my everyday life, and I honestly can’t imagine life without it.
The truth is, I’m still learning. I often feel like I’m in the early stages of understanding any of this. And yet, sharing what I’m learning feels vital—not just for me, but for a world that so desperately needs softness, presence, and healing. Still, I often wrestle with imposter feelings. Why would anyone listen to me? I have no formal expertise in this field. Yet, I continue—because this work doesn’t require perfection. It requires presence. Passion. A willingness to show up anyway.
Art became a lifeline after my divorce—but its importance didn’t stop there. The ripple effects of that separation and the impact on our four children still touches my family in deep, often unspoken ways. Relationships have been reshaped. Grief surfaces in surprising moments. There’s been healing, yes—but also distance, wounds, and longing that don’t have simple solutions. In the face of that, painting has helped me hold space for all of it: the beauty, the sorrow, the questions with no clear answers. On the canvas, I can breathe it out, feel it through, and sometimes even find meaning in the mess.
That’s the spirit of the two painting paths that have shaped my journey: Intuitive Painting and Intuition Painting®. Though their names are similar, they are different in form and lineage. Both have helped me reclaim parts of myself I didn’t even know I’d lost. And both deserve to be understood for what they truly offer.
Intuitive Painting: The Wild, Sacred Path of Self-Expression
Intuitive Painting is a broad, open-ended approach to creative expression that emphasizes process over product. It’s less about technique and more about trust—trusting the inner voice, the unconscious, and the emotional landscape that arises when brush meets canvas.
Contemporary leaders in this movement include Whitney Freya, who invites participants to paint as a form of meditation and self-discovery. Her workshops blend sacred symbolism, energy work, and playfulness to open portals of creative awakening. She teaches that painting is not something to master—but something to remember as an innate part of the human spirit.
In this open model, there are no rules or steps. It’s available to all and guided only by the willingness to listen within. It’s often messy, unpredictable, and healing.
I highly recommend listening to this interview from the Awakened Magazine Podcast in May of 2024: The Healing Power of Intuitive Painting with Whitney Freya
Intuition Painting®: A Structured Process for Sacred Transformation
By contrast, Intuition Painting® is a trademarked methodology developed by Montine Blank, who was trained directly by Aviva Gold in the Painting from the Source lineage. Building on that foundation, Montine created her own unique six-phase process designed to guide participants through a structured creative journey. In many ways, it mirrors Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey—a mythic arc of departure, descent, and return…in this case, symbolic treasures and insights are captured on the canvas. Each phase of Intuition Painting®—from centering and opening, to revealing and integrating—offers thresholds that echo the timeless rhythm of transformation. Montine has been guiding individuals through this profound process for over 25 years.
This isn't about painting something beautiful. It’s about crossing an inner threshold, engaging the mystery, and coming home changed. The method provides a held container that allows for vulnerability, depth, and a sense of sacred safety—especially for those healing from trauma or seeking meaning through creative ritual.
This process integrates somatic awareness, coaching, and ritual. Each phase—such as centering, revealing, and embodying—offers intentional invitations to explore the subconscious, release emotional blocks, and engage with the canvas as a mirror for the soul.
Unlike the open-ended nature of intuitive painting, Intuition Painting® provides a held container. It’s not just an art practice—it’s a powerful life skills course in disguise. As Montine always says, it is deceptively simple—offering profound transformation through seemingly gentle steps. Participants develop emotional awareness, self-trust, and intuitive resilience, and with each session, they increase their capacity to trust their own inner guidance—skills that extend far beyond the canvas. This can be especially beneficial for those navigating trauma, deep personal transitions, or spiritual awakening. The method is only taught by certified facilitators to preserve its depth and safety.
The trademark is not about exclusivity—it’s about respect. It ensures that those who hold space using this name have been trained to offer it with integrity and care.
Montine has created transformative retreats around her Intuition Painting workshops in Tuscany, Italy, Joshua Tree, CA and Asheville, NC. As well as created a facilitator training opportunity to those who feel called. Check out her offerings here: Life is an Art. I’ve done them all except Italy, and that’s on my bucket list.
The Importance of Both
Both processes have something vital to offer.
Intuitive Painting is the wild river—free, instinctual, and ever-flowing. It invites spontaneity, emotional release, and creative play. It teaches us to trust the unknown and listen deeply to the self.
Intuition Painting® is the sacred container—a defined journey with a trusted guide. It offers a rhythm and ritual that can deepen the healing process. It reminds us that structure, too, can be liberating.
As a Soul Journey Guide
For me, these two approaches are not at odds. They are companions. One teaches me to leap. The other teaches me to land. Together, they form the foundation of what I offer through Soul Journey Arts.
I’m not an expert. I’m a fellow traveler. But I believe deeply in the medicine of the creative process. I believe in painting as prayer. And I believe the world is hungry for this kind of honest, heart-led work. In fact, I believe the planet depends on it for survival.
Whether we follow a pathless path or walk within a sacred structure, the canvas always becomes a mirror. A portal. A promise.
The true masterpiece is not the painting. It’s the transformation we allow.
From my soul journey to yours,
Maria
