You're listening to the savvy painter podcast episode number 261.

Hello savvy painters today I want to talk to you about a very important concept in

your art studio. This is something that a lot of us experience every now and again,

but would probably prefer to experience on the regular, the flow state. In this episode I'm going to talk about what it is, how we

experience it, why it matters to our practice, and how to create it on purpose. I am so excited for this one. Let's do this. Okay? So first, what is flow? It's not magic, but it definitely feels that way. We used to have it all the time when we were kids, when we were drawing, playing, figuring out puzzles. I remember being in the flow state whilebuilt sets that come with all the directions, the real fancy ones that come with all the directions, the real fancy ones that they have now.

Totally dating myself, but what I had was like this big, giant green square base

and then there was all these blocks of color

that were sort of, I think if I remember right,

they were kind of color-coded by size. And I would be

be kind of color-coded by size and I would sit there for hours figuring out how to build whatever it was that I wanted I would be completely

engrossed. Usually what I was building was like a house or a neighborhood, but I also remember experiencing

flow when I was drawing. Like I have very vivid memory of drawing a horse. I just remember being so into that

drawing that I really felt like I was in the drawing, like I was on the hill with the horse I could feel the warm sun I could smell the grass and the flowers that I was drawing the little butterflies I could feel the wind that tossed the horse's main back even though I was

sitting in an office waiting room while my mom had this appointment. And then later, when my

fascination with horses turned into unicorns, I think this happens to everyone, right?

Yeah, all 12-year-old girls, I'm sure, have this.

I would get totally lost in those drawings. I could be sitting in the middle of the living room floor with the TV blaring and my brothers and sisters fighting over which channel to watch and I could

I could completely just be oblivious to all of that noise.

And I would just be sitting there drawing and turning out drawing after drawing after drawing in a complete state of bliss.

This is the very definition of what Meihai Chik sent Meihai, the author of the book

Flo, says that it is. It's a state of heightened focus and immersion in activities such as art, play, and work.

So even as a seven-year-old, you can just boom, tap right into that.

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