How I work

Be quick, attentive and always Listen

I love pastels – they are so brilliant and so immediate. The immediacy is key to my process. I use other media but almost all of them require a little bit of set up time and thinking. Not pastels.

Aside from choosing a medium my process is fairly simple. I tune in to Spirit using either a card the recipient has touched (even though I have used clothing, jewelry and even pets) that has the energy of the client on it or I just tune into the energy of the recipient either in front of me (one on one), on the phone, on Skype or Zoom or by name and birthdate from a distance.

I tune into that energy using my clairvoyance, clairaudience and claircognizance. That energy is how spirit speaks to me through the “clairs”. My job is to listen.

Listening is what I do when painting…well, that and a little bit of talking. I converse with Spirit the whole time I’m co-creating. After tuning in and getting something I go to the pile of ready substrates (papers and boards) and run my hand over them, and ask which one to use. I usually get a tingling or just a knowing (claircognizance) on the substrate or colors to use.

Then I scribble a bit with a pastel pencil or charcoal until something starts to form. It is vital to have no plan to stay out of my body, if you will. I just move the pencil for a while and eventually ask out loud who is coming through or is this male or female? I am waiting for a general knowing. I usually get the eyes first and move from there.

I am basically having a conversation with Spirit the whole time. Asking: Where are you? (to place the subject in the background) What color are you wearing? What color is the background? What colors are your skin and hair?

I run my hand over the pastels until I get a “hit” which for me is a tingling, a change in temperature or a knowing, but I also use my training as an artist to inform the choices. I don’t always ask, I often just know.

As the painting develops I keep asking questions. I step back from the drawing table or easel several times to get a better look at the result. I sometimes cry and I’m almost always wildly pulling on the kneadable eraser like its taffy.

If you were a fly on the wall you would think I was having a fit. I am allowing Spirit to direct my moves. My thinking mind is not connected. It is an odd dichotomy because as an artist I am used to making lots of decisions. What is the composition, what is the color story, how to ground everything to make sense.

This is why pastel is so perfect. No mixing a color or thinking about what to keep white like in watercolor. No in-depth planning that is usually required for oils. Just place the color and focus on Spirit. I love it. I use other media but it is easiest to use pastels.

This process is also why a lot of my art looks different. Sometimes the connection fades or the information seems incomplete and a professional finished image will not be the result. The point is to bring an image and message from Spirit that will help the recipient heal, be comforted or learn.

Looking closely and noticing the details of colors, age of the represented Spirit, the clothing, the placement in time or space, facial expression or body language is all part of the message. Sometimes the image is small other times the face is large and direct and other times there are several elements creating a montage message.

These are tools for spiritual growth to be studied by the recipient. It is a real joy to bring through a message and an artwork that can be useful for mediation, connection, healing and/or inspiration.

Embrace the Mystery.