Book Fact Sheet

Book & DVD Information
Reviews & Reader Comments

U.S.A. Edition cover

 

UK edition

U.K. Edition cover

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Publication Date: September 1998
Publisher: Source Publications (previously HarperCollins)
Specifications: Paperback (170 pages) with 8 page color insert featuring paintings created in Aviva's popular workshops. Included are reading lists and appendixes with art supply, continuing education and emotional and spiritual support resources.
ISBN 0-06-095272-5

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Book Excerpt:

"Every human being is an artist. As adults we can recreate the boundless joy of unself-conscious art by setting aside intellectual critique and self-doubt and reconnect with 'the Source.' the spiritual center others may call instinct or soul."

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Buy the Book Today
at our ONLINE STORE

Why should you read
Painting from the Source:
Awakening the Artist's Soul in Everyone

There are many paths to Spiritual evolution and thousands of practices that foster personal development, yet none is so immediate in its potential to transform as putting brush to paper. By giving yourself over to the experience of painting you can come into contact with your soul and tap into your personal power.

Painting From The Source® is not about objective standards or aesthetic criteria. You donít need to be a natural-born artist to engage in this process. As Aviva Gold shows us, our bodies themselves know how to paint no matter what our background. Itís simply a question of learning how to create a space in which we can let ourselves go. In addition to healing emotional wounds, when we begin to create artwork, we can experience a new sense of freedom and emotional wellbeing.

Painting is an ancient means of touching the mysteries of existence, as old as the cave pictures that call to us across the centuries. For the first time ever, a guide to this ancient ritual has been made available. In Painting From The Source® you will discover how to:

  • Use the painting process to move through and resolve physical and emotional traumas
  • Acknowledge and accept the shadow side of yourself through painting
  • View and appreciate art in a deeper way
  • Create a safe environment for the process
  • Follow up after an initial breakthrough painting.

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In the tradition of the bestselling The Artist's Way, artist and therapist Aviva Gold demonstrates how both novices and trained painters alike can use painting as a means of ecstatic self-expression and personal transformation.

In the words of Aviva Gold, "Every human being is an artist." As children we live and paint intuitively, approaching the canvas with confidence and spirit. As adults, however, we become our own worst critics, stifling inspiration with intellectual doubts.

The author's innovative approach, a blend of spiritual, artistic and psychological elements, shows readers how to rediscover the creative self by reconnecting with the source--our instincual center. Painting From The Source® allows the novice to put brush to paper as a means of personal growth, and the experience painter to feel the passion he or she may have lost.


BOOK ENDORSEMENTS:

"Painting from the Source is a wonderful invitation to free the artist within you. It offers excellent advice on how to get over your blocks and enter that dreamlike state of creative flow in which you can tap into an inner cosmos of imagery. Aviva teaches painting as everyday shamanism; paint like a child. and you call back your lost children and your vital soul energy. I highly recommend this spirited, generous book".
Robert Moss, author of Conscious Dreaming and Dreamgates

"If there is an artist buried in you who is struggling to get out, or a free spirit who needs to be set loose, this book will be like spending a week at a creativity spa. Read it, study it, live it, and you and your soul will emerge rejuvenated".
Suzi Gablik, author of The Reenchantment of Art and Conversations Before the End of Time

"Flamboyant, fearless, and freeing-just like Aviva herself."
Henriette Anne Klauser, Ph.D., author of Put your Heart on Paper and Writing on Both Sides of the Brain

"Aviva Gold significantly enlarges the artistic and spiritual landscapes and eloquently affirms how all creation springs from the great mystery that gives shape to everything. I love the emphasis on a truly accessible and intimate "source." Discover how art is made in partnership with the creative spirit--it is not you alone who paints the picture when you paint it".
Shaun McNiff, author of Art as Medicine, Earth Angels: Engaging the Sacred in Everyday Things, and Trust the Process: An Artistic Guide to Letting Go.

READER COMMENTS:

Allison J. Smith, from ArtBizBlog:
I had many blocks (and signs of depression) and created paintings very slowly, less than 10 paintings a year! I found and read the book, Painting from the Source by Aviva Gold, and then followed its method of creating imagery.

I am now block-free! I freely express myself through my art. I create unabashedly, fluidly, and in 2007 created 180 paintings. And I have to say, the paintings now are of a much higher quality. Not to mention, I am no longer stressed-out and I think more clearly than I have in my entire life!

Reader from Hollis Park Gardens, New York:
An Eye-Opener!
I thank Aviva Gold from the bottom of my heart! This book really helped me to reach in to my "inner artist," without worry of any needless techniques that often get in the way of expressing my full creativity. Viva Aviva! Write another book real soon!

Reader from California:
A journey that has no ending.
Aviva is one of those wonderful people who is bound to discover all that there is for her to know in this life. Even more, she is willing to share those discoveries and to use them to encourage those who come into her circle to leap from hers to their own. True learning comes from sitting at the feet of those who have something to share, getting up and allowing creation to happen from that experience, and sharing it with someone else. Circles on circles on circles. Endless. Boundless. Inevitible. It is what life, and being fully alive, is all about. To life! To Aviva!

A reader from Colorado:
Read this if you've ever picked up a paintbrush!
This book was so easy to read, and so very enlightening! It brings back the joy experienced as children, in "creating". Aviva Gold has tapped into the human psyche through limitless and delightful expression in "painting from the source".

Holly from Long Island, New York:
Wonderful!
I really liked this book and had a great time during my first afternoon painting session. I look forward to a lifetime of painting! I never would have had the courage to just start painting like this. Go ahead, buy it, read it, and start painting too!

Kay Cox, MA, ATR-BC from Texas:
A safe, stimulating guide to reaching one's creative soul.
Having attended Aviva's workshops, I am excited to find the same safe approach to reaching deep into my soul presented in her book. The directions are clear with wonderful illustrations. Aviva is able to convey a sense of working at one's own pace and comfort level while opening up to possibilities. I continue to paint and collage with abandon breaking through barriers of old shoulds and oughts. Thank you, thank you.

Experience Painting From The Source®
through Aviva's new DVD!

DVD DESCRIPTION: The Complete Painting From The Source - DVD
This new, updated DVD includes the previous 1 hour Instructional Main Feature, plus an additional 7 Special Features, including 30 minute TV Interviews with Aviva, a workshop in New Mexico, a recent interview with Aviva and her paintings in her California home and much more. The Main Feature, PFTS Instructional demonstrates EVERYTHING you need to know about Source Painting, including inspiration! It includes updated visual instruction, guidance and a refresher of benefit to those of you who have previously experienced Painting From The Source® through workshops or the book. For newcomers and old timers alike, The COMPLETE PFTS DVD is almost as good as attending a workshop.

The DVD will provide :

  • How to set up a Simple, Safe and Sacred Space to paint.
  • Step by step instructions on mixing colors and buying and preparing non-toxic inexpensive materials.
  • Guidance through the first strokes to the final details by viewing Aviva paint.
  • Stunning footage of people painting in Aviva's workshops.
  • How to use the process to enhance physical, emotional and spiritual well being.
  • How to acknowledge and accept the shadow side of yourself through painting.
  • Countless valuable tips and wise inspiration that apply to and enhance all of life as well as painting.

Buy the DVD Today at AVIVA'S PFTS ONLINE STORE

REVIEW EXCERPTS

Recommended. This very personable DVD presents practical and inspired steps to awaken the artist within. Gold gently asserts that this kind of painting is not about technique, but more about touching into a deep primal place where feelings can express themselves, and heal disharmony. She demonstrates the freedom of expression that allows the artist soul to emerge. She encourages attention to detail while remaining open to what the painting reveals, either by adding to it until it is finished, or allowing it to evolve and morph into another subject altogether. This process will become your alchemical gold.
Napra Review

Aviva Gold turned my idea of art upside down and I have never been the same since. I found the freedom to express my inner experience.
Working Titles Magazine

Aviva Gold offers cost-effective ideas and shows how to set up a simple, safe & sacred space for creative efforts.
DVD Librarian

ENDORSEMENTS

Aviva Gold teaches painting as everyday shamanism. Paint like a child and you call back your vital soul energy. I highly recommend this DVD.
Robert Moss, Author, Conscious Dreaming

This DVD gave me a quick overview of what the PFTS painting process is all about. Lots of people prefer watching to reading, and the DVD is chock full of valuable information, all presented in a comfortable format. It is a great educational tool.
Jill Preis, Psychologist

Aviva's compassionate voice of calm, and clear step by step explanations lured me into the essence of the Painting From The Source process. The DVD's montage style shows pieces of Aviva's workshops woven together with a practical guide to getting started at home. The entire package is inspirational.
Susan Brew, Teacher

The PFTS DVD is the next best thing to being in the workshop. It made me feel egger to start painting. I am a visual learner, and the DVD really made PFTS come alive.
Mego Johnson, Executive Director, Eco Agency

I loved Aviva's book, but the Painting From The Source DVD brings the process to life..in 3D living color!
Michelle Ruben, Graphic Designer

Aviva's enthusiasm and belief in the process is infectious. This DVD would make a slug want to paint!
Bob Bowen, Lawyer

I can't wait to get my paints and start painting. Aviva has convinced me that I am an artist and her DVD provided me with the confidence to pick up a brush.
Denise Morin, Banking Executive

Aviva's down to earth warmth, humor, and love show through the screen.
Joyce Powers, Physician