Already a student? Click here to login
Create Fabulous Abstract Paintings With Flow & Ease
The Salon is a Monthly 2 Hour Online Intensive Painting Session that you can be part of by either being in the Masterclass or by joining the Salon as a standalone selection. The Salon is a game changer for artists who want to take their art somewhere new and who want to push the envelope of evolving their art
This is for artists of all levels, whether you’re at the beginning of your artist’s journey, coming back to your art after years of not painting or you’re a seasoned professional.
WHAT YOU GET WHEN YOU JOIN TODAY:
Once monthly 2 Hour Painting Calls Online. Each month the Call Recordings will be added to The Artist’s Journey Salon if you’re unable to make the Call.
Join or rejoin any month or months; jump out at the end of any month.
Join our fabulous private Facebook Community where the excitement happens: the exchange of ideas, inspiration, encouragement and friendships flourish in this wondrous, dynamic community of artists.
As a Salon member, you’ll enjoy benefits:
For every month you’re in the Salon, you accumulate a $50 credit toward The Masterclass tuition..
For example, if you’ve been in the Salon for 5 months ($250 total), you can apply this to The Artist’s Journey Masterclass tuition.
WHAT NANCY’S TEACHINGS CAN DO FOR YOU AND YOUR ART
Click on the arrows or swipe left to read more testimonials
Teresa has experienced a turning point in her art
“The Artist’s Journey” after 50 years of painting, was the turning point in my work, I have never felt such enthusiasm with my work.
Thank you Nancy for your truly enlightening words and videos, every artist whether debutante or established should know about your teachings.
~ Teresa Pisani
Chrissy now understands the path to her best work
Nancy gives the gift of soul work with intuitive abstract art, moving through fear and into the present moment with joyful experimentation. I now understand the path to my best work, to be able to paint with an expressive aliveness, and am deeply grateful for Nancy’s genuine care and individual attention. The content is presented sincerely and simply, and is deeply motivating.
~ Christine Scurr
Vera took her painting to a new level
Nancy, you are full of life and have a deep understanding of the “other.” You are a fantastic teacher. Your lessons are so intelligently put together! You not only provided invaluable information, you opened doors to a new level in painting and led us through with your encouragement & belief that we can do it. You made it possible for us to venture in new territory & helped us through it!
~ Vera V. Tchikovani, San Francisco, CA, Artist’s Journey® Course Alumna
Betty found her own style
Not only did I learn about the fundamentals of creating abstract art, but I learned them in a way that was deeper and easy to understand. The weekly lesons, videos, and assignments helped me hone in on techniques through practice. The FB form was an amazing group of supportive artists and Nancy’s feedback, guidance, and support were invaluable. It’s been the best online course I have taken and completed!
~ Betty Franks Krause
Marian incorporated painting with her yoga practice
The Artist’s Journey Course Work and Nancy’s abiding trust and encouragement are the cornerstone of my artistic development. Watching her simultaneously paint and teach is captivating and spellbinding. I’ve travelled from nascent “yeah kind of” artist to one who races to her studio, eager to spend time painting, experimenting, exploring, allowing, and finally, liking my work. Grateful to Nancy forever! Namaste!
~ Marian Bach
“In the middle of the road of my life
I awoke in a dark wood
Where the true way
Was wholly lost.”
Do you ever feel that way?
Dante Alighieri wrote those words over 600 years ago, yet they could
have been written today by painters like you and me.
I remember as a child, I would sit in front of two Rembrandt reproductions that hung in the living room of my childhood home in Arkansas. For hours, I’d get lost looking at them: Young Woman with a Broom and The Man with the Golden Helmet.
As I looked into the sitters’ eyes, I imagined their personalities. What would they say if they stepped out of the paintings and sat down on the floor next to me? What were they like? I imagined playing with them and listening to them tell me stories about their lives.
I dreamt of being an artist for as long as I can remember.
But the swirl of life’s currents swept me away from that dream. I explored drama, debate, writing, biology, and chemistry. I became a psychiatrist. But then one day, that long-ago fascination with art resurfaced out of the depths.
At 36, I was brought to tears when I finally saw original Rembrandt drawings while on a painting trip in southern France. They were so alive, the people in those renderings reaching out to me across the gulf of the past.
That aliveness is what I’ve always loved about painting — yet it can get lost along the way.
So many painters are filled with self-doubt. They question their talent. Creation becomes an arduous, painful task. They retreat into technique, hoping to find that one last, secret method that will finally make them “great.”
They get their work critiqued…until they can no longer paint without a voice in their heads picking apart everything they do.
They compare themselves to other painters, and always seem to find themselves coming up short.
Along the way, their work becomes “dry.” Dead. Like a butterfly pinned to a board. Beautiful — but lifeless.
Do you ever feel that way about your work?
It’s a terrible place to be. To love something — painting — but to find it so painful. To feel lost, wanting to express yourself but not knowing how. To feel like nothing you create is really you.
You yearn for something more. To create. To feel alive.
Does any of this sound like you?
You want to find yourself and your style, but you don’t believe in yourself enough to do that. When you paint, your inner voice never stops self-critiquing, making it impossible for creativity to flow.
When you do paint something that feels right, you end up repeating it until you feel stagnant. How do you find your style without being repetitive?
You secretly fear that you’re not a “real” artist. You feel like a fraud, because you didn’t go to art school, you gave up your art a long time ago, or nobody believed in you when you were growing up. You scroll past artists on Instagram and Pinterest and feel like you’re not a “real” artist like them — and you don’t know how to be.
You enjoy starting paintings but feel anxious about finishing them.
You feel like your paintings lack a certain rawness and aliveness, and you’ve lost interest in your art. And when you lose that, you feel like you’ve lost a part of yourself. You’re afraid you’ll never reach the full expression and potential of who you are with your art.
You replicate other artists’ work and never feel like you’re expressing your own vision.
Something’s just missing from your art. You wonder if it’s technique, but no matter how much you learn…you’re still never happy with your paintings.
I've had the privilege to work with Nancy as an artist. She paints with great passion, boldness, and spontaneity. Her enthusiasm and childlike playful freedom in the painting process is infectious. This is one infection I'd like to catch!
If any of this resonates with you, then you may be experiencing one of these three common problems:
You’re laboring under what I call the “tyranny of technique.”
You look to others to validate your work
Friends, family, other artists, teachers, participants in critiques. When someone reacts with anything less than total praise, you feel destroyed. But when you’re praised, you don’t believe it.
You haven’t done the inner work
Artists’ statements, getting in the right galleries, attending the right MFA programs, getting the right residencies…none of that is what art is really about. Art is about self-expression. If you haven’t connected your work with yourself — your inner landscape — your painting will never be alive.
What’s missing in all of these problems is YOU. Your soul and aliveness coming through in your art.
I would know, because I used to be the same way.
For years, I painted figures and landscapes that were beautiful, technically excellent, and got into solo shows and galleries…but they were predictable. I became bored and uninspired. I never surprised myself.
I wanted wonder and joy. I wanted magic! I wanted to fall in love with painting again.
So I did.
I started experimenting, exploring, and risking. I learned to trust myself. I painted like I was on fire!
The work poured out of me — I moved from force into flow.
I learned that I had to be willing to answer the call to step into the unknown, no matter how scary that might be. I left the dark wood and stepped into the sunlit clearing of my true self, my creativity.
You can do that, too.
After taking Nancy’s classes I had a realization that the reason why I had the pattern of quitting painting like I did was that I’d run into the ugly paintings and fear of failure! Once I accepted them as part of the process, I’ve been able to paint indefinitely, sometimes all day! I’m so grateful to have found Nancy with her background in Psychology which puts her in a unique position to help artists confront and work through the dark night of the soul.
~ Lesta Frank
Imagine Being Excited to Paint Again!
Imagine waking up every day and feeling excited to show up to the studio and explore and experiment.
Every time you pick up the brush, you hear an internal voice that says: “I can do this, I will do this”. Hours go by as the work pours out of you. You feel like a child again — before the doubting voices and criticism got to you.
You create paintings that surprise and delight you. You’re free of self-judgement and the constant questioning of “am I good enough?” You say “yes” to taking the plunge into facing your fears and creating fully.
And as you experiment, you develop your own voice, signature, and lexicon — your own unique, personal, gestural expression. You believe in and trust yourself as an artist.
Every day, when you step back from the easel and look at the day’s work, you feel thrilled. This. Is. It. You. The deepest, most meaningful, and full expression of you.
You even revel in the “ugly” paintings, because it’s all part of stepping into the not knowing: the terra incognita of your creativity and flow.
That’s where the magic is: the unknown.
Even though I have painted continually for over 50 years, and have been successful, I never before truly felt that my art was from my heart. Now, it is flowing , and I have a show on now, with one large painting sold before it went up. You turned me on to my own deep thoughts and with the art journey I took with you, I became the painter that I want to be. Take a look at what you have Inspired.
~ Diane Voyentzie
How Do You Get Unstuck, So You Can Create Art with Confidence?
The problem is it’s so hard to get to the magic and flow.
And the reason is that so many artists are consumed by the belief that if they just learn more and more technique, they’ll be a great artist. But you know what? Technique is important…but it won’t make you a great artist.
In fact, if you get too wrapped up in technique, you can find yourself getting further and further away from your fullest, deepest, most authentic expression.
The issue is that when you decide you want to invest in yourself as a painter, many of the books and courses out there focus on technique and giving you critiques. And that’s fine, to a point. But once you have the essentials mastered, getting critiqued can actually dampen your creativity. You end up with an inner voice providing running commentary with your every brushstroke.
You make yourself small, so you can fit into the narrow confines of how you’re “supposed” to paint.
Artists grip onto technique because of the deep-seated fear that they don’t really know what they’re doing. That they’re not enough.
But the truth is this: if you’re not happy with your painting, no one can “fix” it for you with a single solution or recipe they give you.
They can only guide you by asking questions and leading you to yourself: to that inner landscape that you want to express. Because deep down, you already know the “answer.” It only has to be revealed.
That’s what I help painters do: reveal the true self inside, so you can express that self on canvas.
Once you do that, you begin to trust yourself, which allows you to experiment and create freely, to get that “magic” you’ve been searching for, for so long.
Before signing up for the Artist’s Journey course, my creative landscape was resembling a desert! Nancy provided insights in a clear, concise and intuitive manner that provided me the freedom to explore and experiment in ways that are still unfolding. With each step beginning with the “Why”, I started letting go and like peeling away an onion skin, the acts of shedding the inner critic, self imposed restrictions, worn out patterns and tired techniques are continuously falling by the wayside.
~ Barbara Johnson
Hey there, I’m Nancy
I’m an abstract artist, bestselling & award winning author of The Artist’s Journey® and The Adjacent Possible® books as well as a Stanford educated psychiatrist.
I’ve been an artist and existential psychiatrist for over 20 years and I’m passionate about creativity, aliveness, and living your most meaningful life.
I’ve been an abstract painter for decades. Several years ago I created a television program “Creativity & Consciousness” where I interviewed artists on their creative process. I learned that artists in every genre grapple with fear and self-doubt and that the interior landscape affects everything!
I believe that abstract painting is a powerful way of getting at meaning and that art is a mirror that reflects our lives…the canvas reflects back our feelings, moods, interior states, and life.
I’ve guided thousands of artists in creating their deepest, most alive and meaningful work, and I would love to be your guide, too!
Start Creating Abstract Paintings You Love
Let’s Paint Together On Our Salon Calls
In the Salon, I’ll guide you to believing and trusting in yourself, so you can create art with confidence, deeply explore and experiment, and embrace the unknown. Because the unknown is where the discoveries are made and where the magic is.
If you feel lost in that dark wood, you need a guide to show you the way out. Others have been that guide for me in the past, and now I’d like to be that guide for you.
On our Salon Calls together, I’ll teach you the “Holy Grail” of painting: the self-transformation of trusting yourself and painting every day. Once you trust yourself, you’ll be free to experiment, explore, and truly express yourself. You won’t feel bound by what you’ve created in the past or by what other people are doing.
We’ll explore Foundational Concepts and apply them to our paintings. For example: composition and value. I’ve simplified these concepts down to the 90% of what is most effective in your painting, so you can stop worrying about technique and start focusing on expression.
I’ve taken years of study in both psychiatry and painting and honed that all down into the few essential things that will take your artwork forward and let you experience joy in creation again.
We’ll also explore concepts like: Structure in Abstract Art, Combinatorics, Constraint, Working in a Series, The Power of Starts, Zero to One, The Adjacent Possible, and much more.
By the end of this course, you will know that you are an artist, and you’ll have the life of your dreams. A life of joy, self-expression, and finally reaching your full potential as an artist.
The class is based on five modules, it consists of video demonstrations, written course material, workbooks to keep up, and interaction with other participating artists in a private Facebook group. Each week we are given a painting challenge to put the lessons into practice. I am finding this a liberating and exciting experience.
~ Valerie Armstrong
What You’ll Learn
The one inner transformation that makes all the difference on your artist’s journey. Master this, and your procrastination and fear around painting will disappear.
The secret “Holy Grail” of prolific, successful artists who appear in galleries (it’s a triple threat).
Many ways of starting your abstract paintings, so you never spend hours staring at a blank canvas in frustration again.
One simple compositional constraint that works every time. Use this when you’re stuck, and you’ll quickly set the “frame” that frees you to express yourself within it.
A simple way to make your painting feel monumental so you can explore the power of scale in your art.
The value of simplifying values in a painting (believe it or not, this can be more important than color and is something all the masters are experts at).
How to use contrast in your paintings, so you create visual excitement, interest, and drama.
How to quickly fix common compositional problems, so each painting just “works” as a unified whole.
Considerations on finishing your paintings, so you don’t get stuck in “what now?” mode and can quickly decide when a painting is done.
And much, much more!
This course has inspired and provided me with all the concepts that forms the foundation of abstract painting. Moreover, through the Facebook group of this course I have received multiple feedbacks from other talented artists who have contributed towards my authentic painting in this course.
~ Ashwini Prasad
How The Salon Works
The Salon is an Online Workshop like my In-Person Retreats, only it’s online
Each month we’ll have gather for 2 hours and paint together
Each Call explores a Foundational Concept in Abstract Painting and we apply it to our work
2 Hour Online Workshop
Reflection Exercises
Online Portal
Call Recordings
Painting Exercises
YOU CAN ACCESS THE CALL RECORDINGS ON YOUR COMPUTER, TABLET, OR PHONE
No worries if you can’t make the call. We’ll have recordings in the portal after each call.
I kept going back to different parts of the course to push it further and remind myself to keep coming back to being free to experiment. It’s extremely relevant to experienced artists as well as people wanting to start creating art. Having painted for quite a few years I was concerned that it might not suit me…. so wrong… I have such a new energy to my work and a very different process, especially when painting plein air. I get a real sense and energy to the landscape which I can bring home to the studio to work up into bigger paintings.
Ann Armstrong
I've started from the beginning of the course and am reviewing like crazy, so much great information you have shared. Your insights, particularly about composition and value, have already helped me progress as an artist, and I will continue to apply this knowledge as I delve further. Many thanks again, Nancy! You are an inspiration.
In The Salon
You Will Paint, Paint, Paint
- 2 Hours of painting together exploring a concept from the Masterclass.
- An invitation to explore, experiment and reflect and write in a journal.
- Many painting “starts”, so you have many options to finish after the four weeks are over.
- Hundreds of painting “maquettes” (studies/exploratory works) to draw inspiration from in the future.
The Skills You Will Master
- Setting painting goals and intentions and refining them, so you have guideposts to guide your daily practice.
- Trusting yourself to find your way as you go, so you can stop worrying and free yourself up to paint intuitively.
- Developing a personal vocabulary of mark making and imagery, so you can channel your subconscious onto the canvas with confidence.
- Develop your 15 minute daily studio practice, so painting effortlessly becomes part of your everyday life.
- Creating many painting “starts,” giving you a cornucopia of options to finish!
- Creating visually exciting paintings of high contrast, so your work stands out and grabs people’s attention.
- And much, much more …
A Personal Note To You
How much time does this take? I’m not sure I have enough time.
If you’re like me and the thousands of artists I’ve worked with, painting is a central part of your identity.
It’s you.
Which makes it all the more painful when you feel so removed from the process.
Maybe you feel tired of copying others or repeating yourself. Maybe your art feels dead or formulaic or uninspiring to you.
You KNOW you have more inside you, and if you don’t express it, you’ll feel like you cheated yourself out of something important, meaningful, and vital to you.
You’ll be missing a part of yourself.
If you avoid the call of your art, if you procrastinate, if you feel like you have more inside you but don’t know how to access and express that inner landscape…isn’t it time to fix that now?You’ll be missing a part of yourself.
How much longer are you willing to be cut off from this essential part of who you are?
In just five weeks, you can learn to create abstract paintings you LOVE.
Paintings that express your truest, deepest self. You can experience spontaneous, joyous creation free of fear, anxiety, and perfectionism.
You can create art you LOVE again.
All it takes is deciding that you — and the art inside you — are worth it.
Nancy Hillis, M.D., Artist, Best Selling Author, Speaker & Stanford Trained Existential Psychiatrist.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is The Artist's Journey Salon?
The Artist’s Journey Salon is Monthly Online 2 hour Call where we paint together, employing concepts from the Masterclass. We’ll also have an additional 1 Hour Call once a month to explore The Artist’s Journey Creativity Reflection Journal. Each month you’ll have access to new material for as long as you are in the Salon. You’ll have access to all courses you’ve enrolled in previously for as long as you’re in the Salon.
How long do I have access to The Artist's Journey Salon?
You’ll have access to all materials in The Artist’s Journey Salon as long as you remain a member of the Salon.
What is your refund/cancellation policy for The Artist's Journey Salon?
There are no refunds or retroactive cancellations for the Salon. You may cancel your membership at any time.
Are there any live calls in The Artist's Journey Salon?
Yes, there will be Monthly Calls (a 2 Hour Call where we paint together) for as long as you are in the Salon. New lessons and material may be added over time.
Thousands of Artists Have Experienced Nancy’s Teachings
Here’s what just a few of my students say about working with me in my courses:
Click on the arrows or swipe left to read more testimonials
~ Rhonda Campbell, Australia
Nancy is a very generous teacher giving great knowledge as a psychiatrist & artist. She instills in us the belief “to trust yourself “ & step into the unknown…terra incognito.
Nancy is vivacious & interesting in her presentation of the modules in the courses, which I have enjoyed immensely.
Having completed The Artist Journey course & Studio Journey, I have been provided with invaluable information, developed a very strong studio practice & the love of exploring & experimenting.
My work has indeed gone to a new level, for which I thank Nancy & am eternally grateful.
Throughout my 4 year association with Nancy, I have made many new friends through the special Facebook groups & have enjoyed chatting with these “like minded” artists & viewing their work. I have also been fortunate to meet some in Australia in person, we have formed a lovely friendship.
Thank you, Nancy for these wonderful opportunities.
~ Cornelia Lehmann
Nancy’s courses were the best online courses I have ever attended. For a long time I was looking for my own way of painting, in which I feel comfortable and which suits me. At Nancy I finally found what I had been looking for for so long.
Each lesson is supported by a video in which Nancy paints a picture from start to finish. That was very helpful for me.
It is such a great gift that I was able to experience thanks to these courses. I have finally found my way to paint as it suits me.
When I paint, I feel that I paint from my innermost source. And when the picture is done, it’s exactly what I want to show. I can finally identify with my pictures. I would like to thank Nancy for that.
~ Cheryl Dyment
I don’t know where to begin. I will say this, no one can accuse you of hyperbole. Your masterclass has, indeed, been a “game changer” for me. So much in life is timing and you and your message have been there for me at just the right moment.
I am so glad that I decided to jump into your class mid-way, after speaking with you. While the progression wasn’t the orderly manner in which I would normally approach things, it was there, nonetheless. I have just finished going through the modules and now I am looking forward to going back and completing the many exercises that I couldn’t manage on my schedule. I have never taken an online course before, and this has really worked out well for me.
Your lessons are well structured and the demos, very helpful. Most of all, your positive encouragement and attitude helped me realize that I am in the right place, with the right “guide” to move me along my journey. I have also enjoyed making the leap to use acrylics and paper, both firsts for me. I have been painting with oils forever, and the change up in mediums has been fascinating.
Thank you so much, Nancy. 
~ Maja Jiranek
I LOVE both of the Journeys very much!!!
And I am very happy and inspired to do my work more structured than ever before. I always say to my family “my Nancy” because she became a part of my artistic life. I learn so much (also English language!) and I love the high level of her thoughts, also her exchange with her loving partner. 
~ Marilyn Simler
This has been a wonderful course for me! Beginning with reading THE ARTISTS JOURNEY in the first days of lockdown to how I feel now is amazing.
Nancy has freed me from a more observation based working method to intuitive free mark making. A combination of the two is beginning to surface which is probably my true self!
Nancy is a true Renaissance Woman and has generously communicated so much through her teaching. I have no hesitation in recommending this course to anyone who is prepared to commit their time and energy to it.
~ Amanda Sophia Hocking
I have found the course to be both interesting and challenging.
I have not done a lot in the area of abstraction but I wanted to do something that took me away from my “controlling” self and the exercises and weekly challenges have done just that. I have deliberately chosen to spread the course out over 3 months so that I can savour every moment yet still be able to further my other art/horse training commitments.
I have found a lot of parallels in the Course and training horses which comes as no surprise as you are a horsewoman, too. Such as; to ride in harmony with a competition horse you have to be prepared to be straight with yourself. It takes courage to step out of your comfort zone but the gains are always worth it. Be prepared to make mistakes, learn and move on. Surrender yourself to the process and not get caught up in the “in order to’s”.
Each horse/painting is on a different journey to the one you rode before. Make lots of starts it improves the chances of success. Every test/painting is a WIP not the “Be All and End All” of Success. And most of all to lighten up and have fun with it.
Thank you very much for your commitment to us all.
~ Nina Thorne
I enrolled in the Artist Journey about a year ago. It seemed at the time a big financial and time commitment for a non- professional artist. After completing the course it became clear to me that it was a most worthwhile investment.
I loved the clear and detailed structure of the course, the excellent instructional videos, and the reviews of important aspects of painting, including mark making, elements of composition, color, restraint, risk taking, trust etc. For me, it was especially helpful to be encouraged to trust my own creative expression and to distance from the inner critic. This process of opening and accepting was beautifully facilitated by concepts like „many starts“ and the Marquettes.
I have used everything I learned in this course over the past year and I find that my work is evolving in new and exciting ways.
I will be forever grateful to Nancy for offering this course and would recommend it to anyone. By the way, I also took the Color course and found it equally satisfying , informative, and rewarding.
Last, but not least, I have been following Nancy‘s blog articles, they are food for my soul (and intellect).
Create Your Deepest Art In The …
Creativity is central to feeling alive.
Will you finally say YES to your dreams?
Contact I Terms of Use I Privacy Policy I Disclaimer I Refund Policy
The Artist's Journey ®: Trust. Play. Love. Paint. Copyright © 2026 Nancy Hillis Studio, LLC. All rights reserved.
The Artist's Journey ® and The Adjacent Possible® are registered trademarks of Nancy Hillis Studio, LLC