Life, Paint and Passion

Life, Paint And Passion is a deeply involving approach to using the creative process as a tool for self-discovery. With vibrant and contagious enthusiasm, the authors liberate the reader's urge to create freely and spontaneously, as a painter or an artist in another medium, purely for the process of exploration, not for result.

With eloquence and simplicity, the authors encourage the reader to journey inward toward his or her authentic self and discover the unique intuition awaiting there. It is this intuition that provides all the tools the reader needs to crumble the barrier between the innermost self and its uncensored manifestation.

Through lively interviews with students, the authors explore painting as a practice that facilitates the ecstasy of unfettered expression. With simple brushes, a few dishes of paint, and this book, the reader will be able to coax the hidden self out of the heart and onto a paper.

Life, Paint And Passion is the result of nearly thirty years of intensive work with the painting process. It provides powerful insights into the act of creation, a solid base for facing and transcending creative blocks, and brings fresh perceptions and healing to life.

Michele Cassou was born and raised in southern France. As a young adult she moved to Paris where she studied law, literature, and art. Inspired by watching children paint, she discovered a way to express herself spontaneously and without need for conventional training. By her early twenties painting had become her fulltime passion. A unique approach to creativity grew out of her many years of "just painting for herself" and her intense desire to share her work led her to work with other people and to lead groups in the creative process. In 1976 she founded the Painting Experience Studio in San Francisco where she has touched many people's lives through ongoing classes and workshops, as well as in centers throughout the United States. She continues to paint and teach in the San Francisco Bay area.

the right image

if it's already painted in your head, why paint it?

be careful, they might teach you something!

the wisdom of the child

chaos, the soil of creation

beauty

the "I want"

just play

pick only ripe apples

awaken your image maker!

sensing

exploring the unknown

what is ugly?

the mind is a thief

do not kill the void

abstract forms or concrete images?

don't trample the flowers

creative destruction

feeling and painting

interpretation vs. insight

the body knows

if you do not listen to your intuition, it will stop talking to you!

on second thought...

dark shadows

on finishing

welcome to the earth

self-discovery

a little life left

resistance

to create is to be a little lost

the brick wall: creative blocks

a horse is a horse is a horse

to care and not to care

break the rules!

follow your brush, but don't follow your brush

tricks and crutches

repetition, compulsion, and indulgence

feeling vs. emotion

monsters unleashed!

is it therapy?

erotic images

painting god

going toward the light

levels of completion

a good comment is a bad comment

the process is the teacher

dark or light?

you are not your painting!

creativity and the spirit

art process as spiritual practice

if painting were just about painting...

appendix: brushes, paints, and paper