Galactic

painting of spirit guide by Lea K. Tawd
"Galactic," 2019 by Lea K. Tawd. 16 x 20" mixed media on canvas. $640

If you have been following me for awhile, you may have noticed that my work has always had a spiritual element.  But this has really grown in the past year and a half or so, and I have to admit that I have struggled with how to talk about it for fear of alienating you. 

I did not grow up with a religious or spiritual practice of any kind, and I was usually turned off whenever someone would discuss their faith. I did have my own sense of spirituality but nothing to ground it in as much as I searched for something. As I work more and more with Reiki and with meditation, however, that has changed.  I am still not religious, and I generally approach things with a healthy skepticism.  But I am finding words for my spirituality and a connection with Source that I never had before. 

So.  I am nervous about sharing this side of my life, but I imagine that if you are here and you feel a connection to my artwork, you probably have some sense of spirituality as well.  Now that we have that out of the way, I would like to share where this particular painting came from, since it is quite a bit different from how I normally have approached my work. 

I don't usually paint from a sketch.  My work is very intuitive, which means I don't start with a plan.  I have a process that gets me into my flow and the ideas come as I'm working.  But this time was different. 

It used to be that I didn't believe in spirit guides.  If you don't, I totally get it.  This story may be too woo-woo for you, and that's okay.  But as I said, I have been getting closer to my spiritual side as I delve further into Reiki.  I connected very deeply with one of my guides during my Reiki I attunement (a process that allows you to channel Reiki energy), and I wanted to discover more about my guides.  But I wasn't sure how. 

Then one day my teacher was brushing her teeth, and my guides went to her and told her, "Tell Lea that she can paint us.  She should try doing it with her eyes closed." She even intuited that maybe someday I would be able to teach others how to do it.  Wow!  That sounded so right on to me. 

Soon after that, I spent my evening meditation asking for a connection to my guides so that I could find out more about them.  I had a notebook and a pen in my lap, and my eyes were closed.  One guide came through very clearly.  She was a wizened old lady.  Ancient.  I saw star maps reaching out behind her.  She was on Earth but came from the stars.  

When my meditation ended, I kept my eyes closed and picked up my pen.  This is what I drew:



It took awhile before I was able to take that sketch and paint it.  Often when I work from a sketch I don't like the results. But after a slow start it finally came together. I feel like I may paint other versions of it some day, like I can explore this idea again and again.  I definitely will go through the process again with other guides. 

This painting is filled with light far beyond what I can show you with my camera.  The paint is so luminous, and the gold is reflective.  I also infuse all of my work with Reiki, and this one very much so.  For more photos or to make a purchase, click HERE.  You can always send me an email or comment with any questions.  

Thank you for being here <3

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