The Artistic Mystic - Painting With Love
March 31st, 2015 - Santa Fe, NM
Eileen Lighthawk is a multi-faceted artist who has the unique ability to take the mystery out of painting even as she adds in layers of mysticism. Her friends nicknamed her, "The Artistic Mystic."
Through much of her life, the artist has pursued a spiritual and creative path that has led her from the wilderness to cities and places in between, studying and learning in lodges, long houses, hogans, colleges, temples, universities and sacred circles of many traditions. For decades, she has shared what she has learned in remote reservations, corporate boardrooms, college classrooms, conferences, retreat centers and in online courses.
As a young child, she lived in Western Montana, immersed in the natural beauty of mountains, lakes, streams and forests. It was there that Lighthawk first discovered painting.
"As an impressionable and curious child, I was blessed to have famed Western artists Ace Powell and Nancy McLaughlin as my neighbors for a while. They welcomed me into their home, and allowed me to watch them paint as long as I sat very still and was quiet. I was mesmerized."
The path of an artist was not much encouraged by parents or teachers. "I was a smart kid, academically, so everyone just wanted me to focus on academics. My mother loved literature and poetry and my father valued music, so my creativity was directed more towards writing and music. I think both my parents saw art as "messy" and something one did if they couldn't get a real job," Lighthawk laughs.
Her talents were recognized however. At the age of 12, she was welcomed into a portrait drawing class that met in the evenings. Lighthawk smiles at the memory. "I think that was the first time in my life where I felt like maybe I had found my people. Even though I was so much younger than the adult students, I felt welcomed and encouraged in that class." Unfortunately, the budding artist had an experience there that caused her to put away her art supplies for years.
It was quite some time later, as an accomplished woman, that she was reminded of the power of image.
"I worked my way through school in creative fields. I was a creative director and a video producer, so intellectually I knew the power of image to communicate. I also used image and visual art privately in my own journeys. Art creation was a very personal thing. Then later, as I began to weave my spiritual and psychological training together, it became clear to me that images could sometimes be more powerful than words, bypassing some of the analytical blah-blah of the mind and reaching more deeply to the heart."
In classes and workshops, she uses the power of image to teach. In private sessions with her clients, Lighthawk sometimes sees mental pictures as she works with an individual. Several years ago, she began to make quick sketches of these images to give to her clients.
"It was fascinating," she relates."Especially with really left-brained, engineering-type people. I would speak from my heart and people would nod and give mental assent to what I was saying, yet it didn't always land. Then I would do a little stick-figure illustration, and you could see the light bulb go on, and watch their hearts open. They got it! So I started giving these quick little drawings to clients, and it made a difference. It often accelerated their healing process. Life was showing me the power of image to hold and transmit energy."
Eventually, Lighthawk's sketches became more polished. Then she began to experiment with color. "I had learned a lot about color as a healing tool, Many different traditions use color therapy." she says. "And I had used color in my private life to enhance my experience. As I grew, I began to discover even more about the specific energies of individual colors, and slowly, I gave myself permission to paint."
These days, the artist uses her spiritual and artistic gifts to create personal paintings that she sees as transmitters of specific helpful energies. Lighthawk calls these commissioned works, 'Art for Transformation." [Contact the artist for more information.]
She also paints for the fun of it. In fact, fun is an important part of life for this enigmatic artist.
"I believe that the energy with which we create, is reflected in the creation," she says. "Whether I'm doing a private spiritual painting filled with a specific intent for a specific person or group, or just painting the happy smiling face of an animal, I really do endeavor to imbue my work with love and joy."
Painting with love - the artistic mystic Eileen Lighthawk is doing just that. If you look closely at her work, you may just see her infectious joie de vivre layered in among the brush strokes.