Painting with the Sun as Creativity is Refreshed by Routine in Phuket, Thailand

Two weeks at the Hilltop Wellness Resort for myself to spread out in a space that feels like a home, a little studio, a luxurious container for my daily routine to get it’s claws back into me. On my discover scuba diving adventure, I bubbled up to the surface with clarity. I would spend a month in Phuket quitting coffee, returning to a strong fitness focused lifestyle, and writing. I rolled up the steep hill with too-heavy bags, a returning desire to paint sunsets, determination, a big smile to settle down for a moment after so many backpacking hotel switches and frustrating internet situations. I was giddy to walk into this temporary ‘home space’. I would pretend this was a condo I lived in full time, long time, like a year or longer. How would I behave with this condition?

For starters, I’d hang my clothes in the closet. I’d get all the ingredients I need for my post-workout protein shake. I’d designate one part of the house for me-time (sleeping, stretching, reading, writing, resting, dancing, therapy calls, singing lessons, meditation). I’d designate another part of the house for artwork and performance, for business (livestreams, videos, music production, painting, photo shoots, phone calls). This division served me beautifully. I’m very Pavlovian. I walk into the bedroom and instantly relax. I walk into the living room and instantly reach for paint brushes, ready with fresh focused inspiration. With all my daily need fully met at this elegant resort, I was able to turn my buzzing energy, the memories of the sunsets in Krabi and Koh Lanta, into new paintings. I began a new collection; the florescent rainbow sunsets of Thailand. Bring on the deep blue ocean, fire on the horizon and a the pastel skies!

I took a break from daily livestreams on YouTube. I loved that daily challenge and connection with the wider human world. It was also draining my energy and I was hesitant and well-rewarded to step back into my own bubble. I checked off the internet and checked into my body. I decided to only livestream when I was bubbling over with performance energy, enthusiasm to teach and share the process. The rest of the time, all the moments in between, were just for me. One of my favorite moments was when I did press “Go Live” and the rainstorm fell from the sky. I dragged the canvas out onto the balcony and painted a sunset in 8min with an online audience cheering me on. The big raindrops left indents in the paint. This moment still fills me we joy. It’s a very pure moment of creation for me because I feel like a little kid playing in the sprinklers. I love creating in collaboration with the rain, allowing it to affect what I’ve done, embracing the change out of my control. To be in teamwork with the elements, the Earth, the universe, the gods is satisfaction beyond any work I do alone.

Sipping jasmine tea with the sunrise. I grew up with the sunrise. I discovered the sunset when I was 24. I celebrated my 25th birthday in Maui, licking ice cream on Sugar Beach, sitting on a log alone with my mom’s voice on the other end of the phone, watching a red pink sunset. Maui gave me love of sunsets. My childhood home gave me love of sunrises. My mother is a sunrise woman. I’m learning how to be both. I dream of living on top of a hill so I may watch both everyday. If I need to choose, I would choose a house that faces the sunrise so I may wake up enjoying the first light of day as my wake up call, so I may wake up gently in the light, drinking, stretching, painting awake. Once the sunrise draws me into living and I’ve flowed through the sacred morning routine, I am free to scamper off into the world of humans to engage, perform, teach and show what is channeling through me. And the end of the day? Well, you can find me on a beach at sunset. Sunset is to be enjoyed out there in nature. I love to run to the edge of the land to wave goodbye, goodnight, to my beloved sun. Wake me up in the morning!

The satisfaction of sunlight illuminating the colors on the canvas. Hello, color!! Now THAT is what you look like in all your majesty. A light shining on the artwork brings out the subtle shades, hues and textures. The sunlight has a special quality that makes the paintings sparkle with magic. What light has more magic than the sun? The light of the sun floods in and touches the light I’ve painted in pigments. I paint the sun. I paint the sunsets and now I begin painting sunrises. How does the sun feel when it sees the suns I’ve painted? Does it recognize itself with love? Oh, this human has painted me! What a beautiful way to worship! She plays with colors just like me. I love to paint sunsets in the clouds every night, just like she does. Oh, she’s copying my work? I’m flattered.

Love & Rainbows,
Cha Wilde