All my life I’ve been creative and musical in many ways, loving the mystical, nature and animals. I can’t remember not drawing. I grew up always creating music or art, just like other family members in my ‘family tree’; fantasy artists, illustrators, sculptors and musicians (Celtic music). Though I’ve always followed my own artistic and spiritual path, I also find a lot of inspiration in magical places in nature. I’ve got family and friends living in Dartmoor (UK) where the veil to other realms in the woods is very thin and I love visiting! Fantasy art, the love for depicting animals in spiritual artwork and making Celtic music is spread through my family. I am Marjolein (say Mary o-lane) born in ’76 based in The Netherlands, Amersfoort where I live with my husband, my son and ragdoll cat Simba.
Spirituality and the mystical
As a child I was highly sensitive and quite psychic (which wasn’t recognized as such at school). Growing up being too aware of bad energy dynamics, my youth didn’t feel easy. Often when I got overwhelmed I withdrew and connected to animals. Here I found I communicated with them on heart level. Drawing animals was a logical way to connect to my inner feelings, higher self and trying to find inner peace. Creativity was also a way for me to connect with others ‘safely’, because I knew I had talent and enough self esteem to share this true part of me. By willingly giving free drawings to others I hoped to stay friends with them. Doing commissions from the age of 6, it felt natural to me to attune to what ‘the other’ was looking for, so I could ‘make them happy’ by drawing that for them. I was a typical ‘free’ child, who didn’t understand why rules where there. Feeling suppressed by them, I stated never wanted to work from 9-5. I just didn’t get that system. This created the foundation of my arts, choosing this as a profession I’ve now been living for 25 years full-time (since 1999) independently!
How my art academy trauma helped me spiritually grow:
My dad taught me to let images ‘appear’ on paper. Starting in an abstract way, I learned to listen and see what wants to come through, but also to be selective in that process. Focussing only on ‘good’ vibes. He’s a marvellous watercolour artist having painted soul portraits of many people and the angelic kingdom. This technique awakened me at a very young age to think and feel into a zero-point, which is still helpful to this day in creating my spiritual artwork!
I was very young finishing high school (15 turning 16). First I studied to become an art teacher to learn the profession in Amsterdam. During my studies we travelled several times to learn the history of arts and architecture and discover art materials in a playful way by doodling on sight. Visiting art museums in Venice and later in Egypt made a deep impression on me, to follow the mystical (unknown) and angelic art I was drawn to.
After that I went to the Royal Art academy in The Hague, to dive deeper into my inspiration. I didn’t find that until after I graduated there in 1999. My teachers didn’t understand my inspiration at all and dimmed me (by contract!) to create only what they approved of. Looking back this was a traumatic experience, which took me over 10 years to recover from. It made me physically so ill, that I went down the rabbit hole. It became a spiritual quest needing alternative healing and reading every book out there on mindfulness, new age, spirituality, divine energies and God. Looking back, this decade helped me to become a healer myself. In my arts a good teacher and coach. Recognizing creative blocks of other artists and helping them to unblock them. Via guiding instead of criticizing! It’s so important as an artist to embrace your own unique divine creativity! I believe art is a soul expression.
From realistic to spiritual animal Art
Once I discovered Celtic music in 1996, a sense of belonging opened up. I started painting the ‘Celtic way’ in my English nature artwork. Painting Celtic power symbols underneath ancient trees, waterfalls, stone circles and animal paintings. During that decade I went through serious physical challenges, in which my spiritual awareness grew quickly. Due to endless searching for answers that doctors couldn’t give me. I dove deep into healthy living, the body-mind connection, meditation, taking many spiritual courses, communication with animals, healing with crystals, shamanistic singing and animal messages, and researching the question: why are we here in the first place!
When I was asked to perform my arts on Dutch tv live by painting animals on the spot, my career exploded. Fully booked for 3 years with commissions became my norm in my pet portraiture. I had at least 10 exhibitions a year in galleries showing my mystical landscapes and wildlife art. I worked so hard! Customers seemed to find me so easily (no social media back then). Even the Sultan of Oman commissioned me for an artwork for his then new palace. I had this massive urge to share my creative joy, resulting in writing articles about my painting techniques for 15 years for international magazines, two books on how to paint animals and giving many workshops.
Though my series of ‘spiritual animals’ I kept to myself. Purely for protection giving it space to develop. Also to prevent retraumatizing, since hearing the critical voices of my art teachers in my head for many years.
Starting to bloom!
In 2018 everything came together when Hay House saw one of my large spiritual wolf paintings. I was commissioned to illustrate the “Archangel Animal oracle deck” for Diana Cooper, Hay House UK. They gave me full space and confidence in the project. I bloomed! I felt artistically so free, it helped me to work very swift and confident. The “Magic of the Unicorns Oracle deck” followed quickly after. Attuning to such high frequencies changed my life. I was giving physical healings to people and animals, and even during my travels I often ‘had to’ clear a place, ley line or any other mystical attunement. I’ve been learning so much by connecting with the elemental kingdom, angels and even dragons. It flows naturally through me. And I love doing it all. Whether it is through my art or giving healing to someone, my aim is to contribute to help people open up their higher heart to treat animals better, mother Earth and themselves. We need to remember that Love is all there is. I hope my art does that for many throughout the world.
Service work, healing the heart art
Connecting to the animal kingdom via meditation (even for commissioned art) has been my absolute training to learn how to capture the soul energy of animals. Calling in the (over)soul of an animal is where I get the most information from, which continues flowing through during painting. For me portraits feels like coaching people, helping pet owners in their grief process (deceased pets portraiture) by guiding them through memories and choosing the best ‘sphere’ I need to capture in a painting. This way the pet can come through clearly. This feels as a spiritual service: divine light shining through, the energy is there. My art is like a ‘rainbow bridge’. I often hear ‘I am not gone, I’m still here!’ during painting. A message I like to give through via my art. People often don’t realize that strong emotions of missing a pet can actually block their heart connection to hear and feel them around! I learned that my portraits help them process emotions and reconnect with them. Sometimes even unconsciously. Since recent years I’m asked to give distant animal healings more often or channel their wisdom to help.
Creative process
When I start I need to get myself in a no-nonsense state: sit, attune, and start. I love combining symbols and themes from the collective energy that is ‘in the air’ at that time. Something I trained doing when working on the oracle decks. Creating an energy transformation on canvas. When I choose a subject, things start to present themselves. My subject seems everywhere all of a sudden! Though I find creating spiritual arts does require responsibility. You can’t let ‘anything’ appear on canvas. There’s much of the unseen that not supportive. I never understand why an artist would create unsettling or even dark portals on canvas. Unfortunately it happens a lot. Learning how to attune properly is a very important step in this and obvious energy protection. I do need the energy to be clear. I use meditation, Solfeggio frequencies, singing bowls, decrees and beautiful angelic music to attune. Once I start I work very quickly. I’m a sprinter, but afterwards I need to ground and unplug to recover.
Spiritual or fantasy?
After creating almost 3 decades of attuned art, I can honestly say the spiritual energy in my art is real. It is although a downgraded version of the limitless inspiration given by God. Paint and canvas can’t capture all expansiveness of energy, right? Through the years many people, even people who don’t like this type of art, have burst into tears when being in presence of a painting of mine. So what’s happening there? I believe that an x-factor is necessary. A bridge, a transformation needs to take place during creativity. That’s our role as artists, being a translator. I like the image of me -as an artist- being some kind of butterfly catcher. Capturing divine Golden nuggets. I love to see myself as an ambassador for the animals, to bring spiritual messages through. Aiming to awaken people that animals are sentient beings like us.
Energy becoming visible
My psychic abilities have grown a lot. I always see little flashy lights around my hands, and sometimes oval pulsing orbs of one super bright colour flashing somewhere in my studio or around people. When I’m working on portraits I often sense the soul of the pet around and sometimes seeing the deceased pet in the corner of my eye walking by or hearing it on the stairs. I have to discern the messages that come through during painting, as I can easily pick up emotions from my customers too. Or astral entities via emotions of others that can hop on for some energy drainage. I had to train myself to focus on the animals or specific divine energies only. That continues to this day, as the energy shifts globally alter too. When working on larger spiritual paintings I sense (arch)angels, guiding my hands and what colours to pick. They can be specific! Also in nature I pick up on the presence of elementals. In Wales (UK) I saw two of them with my physical, eyes and even by sound. That was amazing! Mostly, in special powerful places like the chalice wells in Glastonbury, I sense them or feeling them stroking my clothes or hair. Knowing they are there. It’s a high pitch filled with love. Sometimes even giggles. Or ‘wondering’, I sense that they often question why we humans do the things we do. Altering the energy to a bit more serious. I like to send silently send love, gratefulness or colours to them.
How has your art and the creative process been healing for your life?
It’s very healing to paint. It heightens my energy always. Paintings are a reflection of who I am and my connection to the divine. Sometimes I have more energy after painting a whole day! Especially when painting unicorns. It can be very confronting and tiring too though, when working on an oracle deck. Imagine what life throws in your lap when you work on a theme like ‘stand in your power’ or paint the card ‘caring community’. Spiritual knowledge is always tested. My art is helping me on my ascension journey. I’m curious what the next 25+ years will bring!
Future
It’s summer 2024 when writing this. A new Golden Age is in process. The ‘sober and earthy’ artist in me is worried of the continuation of art business in general, due to the release of A.I. and government restricitions to living independently as a small business owner. The spiritual artist in me is constantly trying to remind me to focus on the positive, grounding in the light via my art. Clearing as much personal shadows as possible withIN me. This (im) balance seems a never ending play! We, as artists, have to fight for our artistic freedom when required.
Two anchor points are my ongoing two series of ‘I Am’ and ‘Illumined’ paintings. I create them as Healing Art. With codes, symbols and symbolism that goes beyond my (en)vision. Designed by attuning to the I AM consciousness, to God, the archangels and higher elemental and animal kingdoms. Activating rays of light, Christ light and consciousness in every painting. Some of these paintings take over 2 years to complete. At the moment I am creating an oracle deck of these works with channelled messages of the animals. Aiming to find the right publisher for that. The pet portraits and other commissioned animal art will continue to help healing hearts and I'd love to create a (spiritual art) book in the near future. Though painting the natural world has so much beauty, it will remain a jump between realism and spirituality I think. You can’t beat the bad haircut of a marabou, that’s just too funny. That should be painted realistic! Also, I’d love to paint more elementals like fairies, dragons, deva’s in their natural element. Creating spiritual children's books, illustrations and working on larger pieces to nourish my own soul.
