ABOUT PAINTING

Shamanic teacher, painter and author in the UK and the world

 ARTIST'S STATEMENT

People often ask me about painting. Especially now I teach courses in making art internationally and do a fair amount of public speaking,  I am asked many questions about my own process and my relationship to my own paintings  Over the years, as paintings have gone off to exhibitions and galleries and I have hosted many Open Studio Days, I have written an artist's statement on (and for) many different occasions, as artists are supposed to do. I observe how constant shifts in consciousness bring fresh insights. I doubt those will ever end! This means that I am always engaged in re-writing and trying to find even better words for processes that happen in the place beyond words!

Today those older artists statements are interesting artefacts because they track and map my creative journey over decadesI will illustrate this page with paintings taken from three decades of painting, with some of my oldest work at the top and some of my most recent work appearing at the bottom. There is writing from different periods.

The encounter with white canvas

For me every painting starts with an encounter with a blank canvas or  a white sheet of paper. (During the Covid-19 Pandemic I switched to using large black sheets of paper!) There is a seed concept: an idea, a colour, a shape, a piece of music, a sudden insight, often a possible marriage of two unlikely things. Once I start the process of painting I enter a dialogue with the spirit of the painting I am working on. That which seeks coming into form, and embodiment through art,  actually guides the process. 

In shamanism we call this process hollowing out or being a hollow bone for Spirit, for luminous beings from other realms. Beings more evolved than myself come forward offer a higher perspective on events on Earth and show me glimpses of other worlds, beyond our material world and physical existence on Earth.

<  UNDERTAKING Oil Painting 1994

 The following prints were made while I was training as an art (psycho) therapist in the early 1990s     ART THERAPY

 Shamanic teacher, painter and author in the UK and the world

 

 SO MUCH SADNESS

Monoprint   1993

TWINNED 

Monoprint  1993

 

 MY DAUGHTER  1

Mixed media  1993

 MY DAUGHTER  2

Mixed Media  1993

About selling paintings

Do I sell paintings? Yes. Will I sell any painting to absolutely anyone who expresses interest in it? NO!

In our culture we often rate artists (and authors!) by their sales The selling of work means that other people put value on what we do. To be "successful" we need to regularly sell paintings or sell many copies of a book. My younger self, fresh out of art school, "bought into" this mindset. Art School instils a very particular (narrow and frankly rather masculine!) idea of what it means to be a professional (and commercially successful) artist!

Over the years my own helping spirits have taught me many powerful lessons and my perception has shifted completely.

Once someone got in touch about buying a painting. The spirits said  no, it is not a painting they want, it is a piece of your soul they are trying to buy, DON'T DO IT! (Of course I didn't).  

Another time I promised someone a painting of a very powerful goddess. This painting went missing for two years and only reappeared recently. She was not willing to go and she was angry that I had not consulted her before making the promise. Rightly so! Lesson learned!!

However, most of the time when people get in touch about buying a painting, the spirit of the painting is thrilled and very excited. Everything flows very smoothly and all arrangements fall into place easily. Then I say my goodbyes and the painting starts a new life in a new home. (While I was at art school the teachers warned us against people "choosing a painting to go with the colours of their sofa". In truth I have not seen much of this, over 30 of selling art!)

>  DADDY IS A BALLOON  1997 Oil Painting (title inspired by a paper on Art Therapy)

Shamanic teacher, painter and author in the UK and the world

 

International Teacher, Author, Painter and Forest Witch in Europe and Globally

Shamanic teacher, painter and author in the UK and the world

International Teacher, Author, Painter and Forest Witch in Europe and Globally

 UNANSWERED EMBRACE
Mixed Media 1993
 MEMORIES
Monoprint 1993

 

 OUT OF TOUCH
Monoprint 1993
 NIGHTMARE
Monoprint 1993

International Teacher, Author, Painter and Forest Witch in Europe and Globally

 Paintings as Trusted Allies and Teachers

Now the time of writing is December 2016. Last weekend I gave a presentation, titled Gods of Portals, Life Transitions and Liminal Spaces, at "Threshold", the annual conference of The Gatekeeper Trust for 2016. There was a beautiful audience of about 100 people. I had a made a power point presentation in which many of my own paintings (inspired by spiritual work done all over the world) appeared.

After that talk (and the reactions I received from many people) I could put into words something I have always known, on some level: the spirits embodied by my own paintings are my trusted allies and teachers. They go wherever I go. They will often go on missions too, performing healing work for a person, family or location or appearing in someone's dream to provide important guidance on a big decision or career move.

In that moment I realised that for me painting is about a life led by and dedicated to Spirit. It is about an intimate relationship with powerful beings that come forward to help all of us on Earth - but they can only do so if we invite them and welcome their help.

It was not just me giving a presentation: it was me and my whole team, all of us doing this! 

WATCH PRESENTATION

I also did think: I need to write this on my website as it could be a powerful message for other artists: moving beyond this paradigm of measuring success by sales and paintings sold! It has given me an immense sense of peace and soul purpose, working this way. And this is the way of working I teach my own sacred art students on different continents.

<  GUARDIAN ANGEL   1997  Oil painting

Shamanic teacher, painter and author in the UK and the world

International Teacher, Author, Painter and Forest Witch in Europe and Globally

International Teacher, Author, Painter and Forest Witch in Europe and Globally

Shamanic teacher, painter and author in the UK and the world

 INNOCENT YET WISE
Oil Painting  1997
 TRYST IN POTTED FOREST
Oil Painting 1997
 
 MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S VOYAGE
Oil Painting 1998   
BIRD GODS, CHESS PLAYERS
Oil Painting 1997

 

 FAQ

Which art materials do you use?

This has changed over time!  Before I had children I loved using oil paint on large canvas (though  also made mono prints and mixed media artwork on paper). However, oil paint is quite toxic because metallic resins are used to create the different hues (Cadmium Orange and Yellow, Zinc White etc.) and so is turpentine. For that reason I switched to acrylic paints months before even trying to for a baby, as I did not want my unborn children to be exposed to any toxic substances or particles.

Between 2014 - 2019 I made many art videos because this medium allows me to mix paintings, digital photographs, myths/poems/stories/folklore as well as music. It adds the dimension of movement, or motion! You can find them all on my YouTube Channel.

IMELDA'S YOUTUBE CHANNEL

During the Covid-19 Pandemic I started working on black card and I love that! I love colour a bit too much so I impose regular "colour fasts" on myself and make pen-and-ink drawings for periods of 3 - 6 months. This also hones my old-fashioned drawing skills! In 2024 I discovered gel-printing and I started collecting my own pigments.

Do you undertake a shamanic journey before you make a painting?

No, the process of painting IS the full immersion in the spirit world! It is much better than a "shamanic journey" because I get to stay "in the zone" for a whole working day! (Say 8 hours rather than 30 minutes!) A journey can easily be the starting point of a painting. Being told that I was "An Apprentice of the Wind" led to a (black-and-white) painting by that title. Look for it immediately below this text box!

How do you work with dreams?

For me keeping a dream journal is a daily practice. My husband risks his life if he talks to me in the mornings before I have written up my dream notes! I do oneiric work (shamanic dreamwork) with all my students as well.  Many of my paintings were inspired by dreams.

SWIMMING IN INK 

PEN-AND-INK DRAWINGS

PIGMENT HUNTING

Shamanic teacher, painter and author in the UK and the world

International Teacher, Author, Painter and Forest Witch in Europe and Globally

International Teacher, Author, Painter and Forest Witch in Europe and Globally

 

 GUARDIANS OF SOUL PARTS   

THE LION & THE BEES (DISMEMBERMENT)

APPRENTICE OF THE WIND

 

WHERE AM I NOW?

In 2016 I was most fortunate to acquire a Forest School and Forest Studio in Sweden. Up to then I was a city girl but now I am a Forest Witch! The Forest and all beings in it (ranging from wolves and deer to fly agaric mushrooms and micro-organisms) are my greatest teachers. I love taking photographs (strictly amateur level!) and making short videos (some appear as reels on Instagram). 

I still love working on black paper. I still impose colour fasts on myself, at least once a year. I have made myself a "bone and skull oracle" from Greenland and I recently taught a sacred art course in Greenland, where the aurora borealis danced over the heads of my art students! This course is not scheduled for 2025 but I am open to returning if there is enough interest!

Joining Substack has been a game changer and I publish sacred art posts there (occasionally). I have invested time and energy in my Instagram account but I feel that it lets artists down, in terms of what it has become. I hope that a better image-sharing platform will arrive on the scene. Over the years I have taught myself many languages, website design, teaching on Zoom, basic marketing skills.

There is always the next lesson or challenge...  

I am currently working on a series of paintings and drawings titled LIMINAL. It explores and depicts the privileged knowledge I have as a shamanic teacher and practitioner. I also do a lot of writing. I am at that time of life where I want to ensure that knowledge is preserved in places where future generations can access it. I have written a series of essays about AI because I need to move with the times (but no, I do not use AI to make art!)

The Covid-19 Pandemic gave me an unplanned body of time-at-home to write and illustrate a series of picture books for young children: THE GREEN BEAR SERIES. I try to get a new book out (roughly) once a year. The most recent book is about the death of a pet and a very simple introduction of what psycho pomp work is.

Oh and this morning I spoke to my publisher about, quite possibly, writing a book about Inuit deities and Inuit mythology!  Life is precious and wondrous and not infrequently miraculous!

IMELDA'S SUBSTACK

THE GREEN BEAR SERIES

Imelda Almqvist, December 2024

International Teacher, Author, Painter and Forest Witch in Europe and Globally

International Teacher, Author, Painter and Forest Witch in Europe and Globally

International Teacher, Author, Painter and Forest Witch in Europe and Globally