Joos's journal

26-12-2014

Calling home the birds

                                   Calling home the birds

This is the painting I made for teaching others how to paint according to the 13 step method of Shiloh McCloud.
For that reason I filmed the painting process, while clarifying every step.
The name of the painting has to do with calling back all parts of ourselves we have left with others.
The tiger is swimming into the unknown.
He is drinking from the nectar of life.

 

22-12-2014

The return of the light

Today is the day of the solstice.
The sun is at her most Southern position and after this date she will come closer again.
I am aware how much our lives are connected to this deep harmonic rhythm that is at the base of everything, and how much I love to attune to this deeper ground.
I can feel freedom of movement and connection then, immersed in a mystery that takes place at every moment.
Without the sun and the light there is no life...

 

14-12-2014

Painting with Adriana

 

I am dreaming about creating a group on Facebook.
The name of the group will be: “Painting with Adriana”.
It is meant to be for anyone who wants to paint with me according to the 13 step method of Shiloh McCloud.
I dream that we will be painting together.
Once you get started it is not difficult, because the method offers the structure for making a painting that shows something of your inner self. And that’s what it is all about.
The wish to paint is enough to find a way to do it and to derive pleasure from it.
The videos in which I show the steps of the painting process will serve as a guide.
You can buy the link to the videos for an introductory price of $US 50,-. This will give you access to many hours of video.
The theme is “Embracing the Sacred Feminine” and the painting is dedicated to all the people who are taking care of a loved one.
Please send an email to joos@joosbouwmeester.com if you are interested in painting with me, or if you want to participate in the group on Facebook.

 

31-10-2014

Filming

I am very excited, because I am filming the steps of the Color of Woman method while I am making a new painting.
I have never filmed before and my inner self is elated.
I dedicate the video to all the people who are taking care of a beloved.
It is so important to have a space in the house that is just for ourselves, our own territory.
A place where we can do what we want.
When we follow our bliss we can also be a source of inspiration for others.

 

19-10-2014

The dreamer

Once again we are in the West of the Medicine Wheel.
The area where bear lives and the dreamer.
Bears eat berries and nuts, roots and seeds.
We receive images from the unknown through the dreamer and we can hear the inner voice in this place.
The faint inner voice of protest has to do with this.
At first she is barely audible, but later we can feel her as a gnawing discontent.
We sense that our life could blossom more than we have allowed to happen until now.
For me this feeling is intertwined with starting to teach painting.
Teaching through the internet or in a studio somewhere.
I know that we can express ourselves through our works of art.
We can process our dissatisfaction, our sadness, our old patterns that keep us tied in the daily groove and thus integrate the feelings and find more freedom.
I want to listen to the language of the dreamer.

 

 

02-10-2014

The alchemist

In the South of the medicine wheel we painted the alchemist.
The first layers consisted of many energy lines.
The energy lines were the groundwork for a feminine figure:

Originally I had painted the head of a tiger in the right lower corner of the painting.
Apparently I needed this symbol of power to remember my fierceness.
In the end I covered the head with leaves from the tree of life.

 

11-08-2014

Lady in blue

I finished my third painting.
Shiloh McCloud brings us through the painting steps in a process of deep discovery and integration.
This time we painted the Talisman, in the East of the medicine wheel.
There are many layers.
Every layer has its own key and opens towards what wants to be made conscious.

This resulted in the painting "Lady in blue"

 

29-06-2014

The artist in me

As my life deepens I have fewer words available, so painting is now the way for me to express my inner nature.
I feel a blazing fire inside that wants to create and I would love to have more time and space to do so.
It is the fire of my soul that seeks to manifest in color and shape.
My paintings are a reflection of this inner flame and I do hope that this ongoing process will help me to find words as well.
The painting process guides me to reveal unknown parts that are waiting to show themselves.
My teacher is Shiloh McCloud. She teaches a method that offers the structure for colors to find a form and for my inner self to make herself known.
The method is symbolic. The forms do not pretend to represent an exact copy of reality, they hint towards a truth that is far greater.
I love the paradox and the tension that exists between the containment of the silence I feel inside myself and the freedom of wild streaks with the paint brush.
I love to vacillate between the creation of formless colors that provide the space for meaningful shapes to arise from the subconscious and, after recognizing them, painting them on the canvas in a stylized form.
The strain between the expected outcome and the image that is shown on the canvas sometimes is great, so I often have to find a way to proceed with my inner critic.
Painting signifies a process of transformation for me that takes place when all these ingredients intermingle.
They lead towards a unique representation and a deeper insight.
The first strokes and layers on the canvas are very free and give me a surprising view that invites me to listen deeper, in order to understand what is waiting to show itself.
Several layers of acrylic paint lead towards a painting in which the history of the earlier layers of paint shines through. 
They leave a glow that creates greater depth and dimensionality.
Painting means both the joy of creating while playing with paint and the deeper aspect of silencing the mind and listening into what wants to be expressed.
My work is being informed by the same desire that made me study to be a psychotherapist and to write books.
This has to do with a deep longing to create and to discover a meaningful life, both for myself and for others, and to find the tools that resonate with my deeper being.
The emotional point of view of my work has to with transcending and including hidden parts of myself and to alchemize them into the totality of my being with rich texture, colors and forms.
May my work convey a sense of the sacred and guide us into deeper aspects of ourselves.
Eventually I would like to teach the method to others.

18-06-2014

Lessons

My Muse painting depicts a nomad with few possessions.
The true teaching of my Muse came when a golden necklace was taken away in my hotel room in Sedona.
I knew exactly where I had put it: in a little bag in which I also keep the charging cables for my Iphone and Ipad.
I was sure the goddess of poverty was tricking me.
I reported to the reception desk of the hotel while at the same time learning my lesson that the feeling of abundance does not have to do with material possessions and that I am free to choose whether I enter fear or remain in the feeling of abundance in my heart.
Half a day later the little bag with the necklace was returned to me.
The lesson about my choice between fear and freedom keeps spreading and opens other doors.

 

05-06-2014

She who goes with the wind

 
              She who goes with the wind © Joos

Lately I have been studying the goddess Lakshmi, the goddess of abundance and prosperity.
My interest in her has to do with the fact that I want to teach this method of painting to others and the focus of the workshops will be on feminine wellbeing.
That is why I was surprised when a nomad appeared on the canvas.
I had a difficult time accommodating to the way she showed herself, with her piercing eyes and a mouth that would hardly smile.
She teaches me that feelings of abundance are not dependent on material possessions and she calls herself the goddess of poverty.
Once I started accepting her it became easier to continue painting.
I started to enjoy the way she was.
Enjoying is a quality of the goddess Lakshmi and this way I have come back where I started.