Recurring symbols in intuitive painting: uncovering insights and messages

Some days, I wish I had done my 100 day project in one art journal. It would have made it easier to see the variety and kinds of paintings I’ve done over the days. And it would definitely have been easier to see the colors, symbols, and marks that show up over and over again.

Instead, I’m flipping over the pages in four different journals, looking over the paintings that I completed during my 100 day project, 100 days of art journaling.

When I started this project, I had one simple goal: To show up at the painty table for a minimum of 15 minutes for 100 days. I didn’t expect to maintain an unbroken streak — I never have been very good at being that consistent with anything except reading! — but I surprised myself by doing just that.

100 days of painting…for a minimum of 15 minutes a day…resulted in 49 finished paintings and many lessons learnt along the way.

As I look over my paintings from this project, I notice some recurring symbols that appear on the pages.

Personal symbolism in intuitive painting

For me, one of the important elements of intuitive painting is to understand the personal symbolism that shows up in my art. I pay attention to repeating motifs or elements, and see how they may relate to my personal or spiritual journey at this time.

During these 100 days, I noticed a few recurring symbols, which I’d like to share with you.

Whimsical faces and figurative abstracts

A lot of my intuitive paintings are figurative, or feature whimsical faces. More often than not, I end up finding faces and figures in the initial layers of my intuitive paintings. I used to think it’s random, my eyes simply trained to find faces in the unlikeliest of places. But over time, I’ve come to realize that there’s nothing random about what happens when you’re painting intuitively. Not the way I do — showing up, holding space, and capturing the internal dialogue between myself and the life force that animates all of creation.

Many of these faces and figures feel like fragments of my Self, as if some hidden part of me was rising to the surface, asking to be seen. Sometimes, they feel like expressions of the divine, carrying with them the energy of the Goddess. I can always tell when this is the case, either due to the heavy application of gold around their face or form, or due to a symbol that is strongly associated with a goddess. And sometimes, they feel like holy helpers, guardian spirits emerging under by paintbrush, reminders that I am never alone, that they will always help me find the way forward.

I don’t always know what their message is, but I’ve realized that that’s ok…their messages will be revealed slowly, either as I gaze upon the painting, or as I start to find other repeat elements weaving their way into my paintings.

I simply welcome them when they arrive, silent witnesses, divine echoes, fragments of something larger than me, trusting that their meaning will unfold in time.

Vines

Many of my paintings feature vines. Sometimes a single vine standing alone against a chaotic, colorful abstract background. Sometimes a single vine growing within or outside a figurative abstract. Sometimes, a bunch of them growing lushly, either contained within a figure or breaking through its boundaries.

I’ve often wondered why I keep returning to this motif. On the surface, vines seem simple, symbols of growth, nature, life. But I think there’s more to them than that…the way they stand tall and proud, spiral outward, or gently fold inwards…something about them speaks to me. A vine doesn’t grow in a straight line. It twists, it clings, it improvises. It finds its own way, even when the path isn’t clear. And maybe that’s part of the message.

In some paintings, the vine feels like a thread of hope or resilience, in others, it feels like a connection between what’s rooted and what wants to rise. I think of vines as symbolizing a way through the mess and complexity of life.

Portals

Portals used to be a very potent symbol for me until a few years ago, when they dropped out of paintings almost completely. Over the last 100 days, though, I’ve noticed that they’ve started to return, to make their presence known again.

Sometimes they are clearly defined, other times, they’re more abstract, a shape or curve that hints at an opening. I’ve never consciously set out to paint portals, or to incorporate them into my paintings, but they keep finding their way in.

To me, portals represent liminal spaces and transitions. There’s mystery in a portal. What lies on the other side? Who do I become when I walk through? They feel like a silent invocation. A way of saying: I’m ready. I don’t know where I’m going, but I’m willing to go. Over time, I’ve come to realize that portals show up for me when change is on the horizon. I may not always be aware of it, but my unconscious knows, and portals are its way of telling me that I’m approaching a threshold moments.

Wings

While wings don’t show up too often in my paintings, when they do, they never fail to lift my spirits.

They show up unexpectedly, when a painting is almost finished. A wing tucked into the side of a figure, or unfurling from its shoulders in all their glory.

When they show up in my paintings, I know the angels are near.

Wings, to me, are a symbol of freedom. Not in any grand, dramatic sense, but in the inner knowing that we are not as trapped or limited as we think. They speak to lightness, softness, grace, surrender, and a willingness to trust in the unseen.

Sometimes I wonder if wings appear in my paintings when I feel weighed down by the burdens of living or by my own heavy thoughts, to remind me that it’s okay to shrug it all off and fly, to be free, to feel joy and lightness, and maybe even transcendence.

Looking back over these 100 days of art journaling, I’m struck by how often some of these recurring motifs showed up in my intuitive paintings. And I’m glad I took some time to contemplate their meanings at this stage in my life.

Art journal spreads

In addition to the paintings featured in the post above, all of which are from the final week of my 100 day project, these are the other art journal spreads I completed from days 81 to 100. Click on the images to enlarge.

As for the 100 day streak, it’s now at 112 days. I don’t know for how long I will maintain this streak, but I do know that the disconnection I felt from my art practice has mended, and I feel fairly confident that I can maintain an almost daily art practice despite the lack of urgency to paint given the dramatic reduction in my stress levels.

Have you noticed recurring symbols in your own creative work, or recurring themes in your writing? I’d love to hear what’s been showing up for you.