Art has been forefront in my life for seventy years. From drawing images on the school wall for the headmaster at the age of five to being a seventy-five-year-old creating for both my own enjoyment and to help others to draw and paint without apprehension. For seventy years my life has been a landscape of visions which I draw and paint for myself as well others to experience the joy of art making physically and spiritually, as well as to create for themselves. It is something I love doing in all creative forms.
From explaining to the headmaster at the age of five that the reason why the swan was bigger than the house because it was ‘nearer to me,’ to supporting lovely five to ninety plus year olds with severe health issues such as Parkinson’s and Dementia. It is because of this force within me that I created images for, and of, other worlds whilst utilising the visual and spiritual aspects of my personality as an artist seer to help others through art.
It was by making art from the invisible images I saw and felt that I realised the true purpose of the art I created was not only to illustrate the living world but also the spiritual essence that we all have but also to help healing those who require help. It is possible to create images of things, people, and places which are not physically visible. I was born with the ability to see – in a comparable manner to the drawings of William Blake’s Visionary Heads (c1828) the living aura which emanates from our spiritual world. The drawings and paintings provide a premise that our ‘inner self,’ ‘soul’ or ‘spirit,’ which support the physical body, can be seen, or sensed, by us all and so, can be drawn.
This ability is born with us, but many do not experience the facility as a natural sense and can seem scary to some. It is when the person feels that which is physically unseen, they can draw and paint the experiences and understand them. The sensation is extraordinary, and yet, also very natural. The artist is often shocked by their ability to have the – invisible to most – faces, places, landscapes, bright moving colours that they see and then draw or paint as they wish. The catharsis is in the process of making this form of spiritual art and is two-fold: one for the artist and secondly for the recipient of the art as a symbiotic and healing action.
Although my work as an artist can give credence to a philosophy thousands of years old, it was whilst supporting others to draw and paint for themselves that I realised that my true ‘gift’ was not so much the creating of these images, the ART was more about a form of healing which each person experiences during the process of watching a drawing or painting evolve on the art surface, as well as the process of creating images for themselves.
An example of this form of healing through art was a portrait I created of a woman I did not know, with Covid during the time of the epidemic. I was alerted by a neighbour that her twin sister had been taken into hospital with a severe covid infection. She asked if I could help her sister. I was inspired to work from a portrait on my phone in pencil and watercolour. Surprisingly, my hands became very hot during the process. It was then that I thought that some healing must have been transmitted through the drawing to the sister because she was fit and well within the week which indicated that during the creation of the portrait healing energy was transferred.
Other experiences happened whilst working in a rest home where there were indications that during the making of art neural patterns changed and the residents felt ‘better’ during, and after, the art sessions. A lady present at my art class was able to forget her Alzheimer’s during the art sessions because she said she was able to draw and paint without having to remember anything including her compromised brain. A Parkinson’s sufferer realised that her tremor aided the style of her painting in an Impressionist style.
Alongside these joyous revelations it occurred to me that creating any form of art including model-making, knitting, and crocheting and sculpture must also support healing. This would not overtly be as a therapy but a method of calming and quieting the brain.
As an artist I love the work I do to help others create drawings and paintings and wish them to feel invigorated at the end of their sessions. During this practise there is a sense of calm and quiet as the brain becomes a creative tool. The manifestation of healing through art is a fabulous testimony, and journey to a method of recreating people, animals, places, through spiritual creativity. Both the product and person doing the creating appears to heal at many levels alongside the maker and receiver of the art. So, let’s get creating and healing! Drawing and painting are very powerful tools for the artist, but it is also a mechanism for non-artists to gain healing and calmness too.
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For 2026 I will be sharing my experiences through workshops and creative meetings. For more information contact me at annbridgedavies@aol.com
…………………………………………………………………………………..Dr Ann Bridge Davies is the Author of ‘The Art of Spirit,’ a fully colour illustrated history of beautiful spiritual artworks ever created. It is published widely by Local Legend. (https://local-legend.co.uk)
