Can Painting Be a Form of Meditation?

At Arts to Hearts Project, we are always curious about the ways artists connect life, movement, and thought through their practice. In this conversation, we speak with painter and educator Katie Petersen, whose work draws from both physical experience and meditation. Katie shares how her paintings emerge from repetitive movements, such as swimming, biking, and running, where the act itself becomes a form of awareness and inquiry.

In this interview, she opens up about using painting as a means to understand the dialogue between body and mind, why direction and motion guide her approach to building compositions, and how layering figures, like frames from a film, allows her to capture the ongoing rhythm of movement. She also discusses the vulnerability of incorporating her own X-rays into her work, the value of residencies in Finland and France, and how meditation continues to influence her exploration of women’s bodies and the pressures placed upon them.

Through her words, we learn not only about her process but also about how she utilises both physical discipline and creative practice as a means to question, heal, and remain present. This conversation invites us to see how moments of movement, awareness, and care can be translated into a visual language that resonates far beyond the canvas.

Katie Petersen is a featured artist in our book, “100 Emerging Artists 2025” You can explore her journey and the stories of other artists by purchasing the book here:

https://shop.artstoheartsproject.com/products/the-creative-process-book

The foundations of my artistic practice emerged during my high school years, later developing my distinctive style and technical mastery of oil on canvas and colour through my undergraduate studies. As my work began to mature, I developed an interest in figurative work and watercolour, both of which describe the literal physicality of the body and the internal space that the body occupies within our consciousness. As an arts educator, I dedicate myself to fostering creative development and artistic literacy in others, while also encouraging my students to look inward and think deeply about what they wish to express through their work. My artistic vision is enriched by international residencies, including a transformative stay in Finland’s wilderness and studies of medieval artistic practices in France. These experiences have profoundly influenced my contemporary work through the integration of traditional techniques and perspectives of female bodies and the expectation of being a woman.

1. Your thesis work, Centripetal, explores the relationship between the mind and body in navigating pain. What first drew you to use painting as a way to process and understand these physical and mental experiences?    

Centripetal comes from a video frame of me completing physical therapy exercises. I wanted to create something that captured the feeling of stretching and how the body must work to heal itself, and to emphasise the importance of developing healthy habits.

2.    You describe swimming, biking, and running as meditative acts that inform your painting process. How do these physical movements influence the way you build a composition on canvas?

Direction is essential in my compositions. I am inspired by the direction of energy when the body is moving. This is why much of my work involves straight lines or circular motions.

3.      In your paintings, figures often appear in stages of motion, almost like frames from a film. What does this way of layering moments allow you to express that a single still image cannot?  

Yes, I print single frames from my videos and collage them together. Multiple figures are needed to complete the narrative of the work.

Direction is important in my compositions. I am inspired by the direction of energy when the body is moving.

Katie Petersen

4.   You’ve even incorporated X-rays of your spine into your work. What role does vulnerability play in sharing such direct traces of your body within your paintings?  

Vulnerability allows others to connect authentically. I want my viewer to feel a genuine connection to the work. It also builds connections with others who have similar stories, allowing them to think that they are not alone in their journey of healing.

Vulnerability allows others to connect authentically. I want my viewer to feel a genuine connection to the work.

Katie Petersen

5.     Spending time at residencies in Finland and France must have shaped your practice in unexpected ways. Can you share what those environments taught you about your process or perspective?  

These residencies enabled me to connect with other artists who have more experience and expertise in creating and presenting their work. Additionally, it was valuable to hear different perspectives and understandings about how we discuss our bodies.

6.  You’ve mentioned that your upcoming work will explore societal pressures on women’s bodies and minds. How do you see meditation and creative practice working together as a way to question or resist those expectations?  

Meditation, as a practice of mindfulness, can help distinguish between our true and higher self and what may be outside forces influencing how we view and interact with our bodies.

Katie Petersen’s work shows us how movement and meditation can be translated into paint, where repetition, rhythm, and direction become a language for both the body and the mind. Through her process, she reminds us that healing and awareness are not fixed points but ongoing journeys, shaped by cycles of focus, release, and return.

From her explorations of motion on canvas to her willingness to bring vulnerability into her practice, we learn how creativity can hold space for both discipline and discovery, and how meditation offers a way to question the pressures placed on women’s bodies and minds.

To learn more about Katie, click the following links to visit her profile.

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