Reflections of the Soul: A Gateway to Your Intuition

In 2017, I took up meditation after watching a podcast. I wanted peace. I wanted to feel appreciation. That’s it. I wasn’t looking for a creative breakthrough. I wasn’t trying to find meaning. I was just trying to quiet my mind. But somewhere in that stillness, I began to paint. I started pouring it onto canvas. It was abstract, messy, and unpredictable. Something about it felt right. I didn’t think much of it. I did it for fun. I hung my paintings around the house. Not because they were great, but because I could say my house was full of original art work. And that…was so humorous to me! A couple years later, my mother came over. She had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s earlier that year and her visits had started to feel like walking through fog - hers, and mine. On this particular day she stopped in front of one of my paintings and just stared at it. “You painted this?” she asked. “Yes,” I said. “You were there when I made it.” My mother had no recollection of watching me create that painting. But standing there somewhat mesmerized, she suddenly tilted her head and said, “I see a Fox”. A FOX??? I had looked at this painting a hundred times and all I ever saw was the Pelican. I stared. I couldn’t see it. “It’s right here” she said as she pointed to the spot on the painting. I STILL couldn’t see it! We stood there side by side looking at the painting, her seeing one thing and me seeing another. And for the first time in a long time, I wasn’t focused on what she was forgetting. I was focused on what she was seeing. I started showing the painting to other people. Some saw an Angel, some saw a dancing Lady, some saw the Pelican, some saw the Fox. No one agreed, but everyone saw something. That’s when it hit me. Maybe these weren’t just paintings. Maybe they were mirrors. Mirrors of the viewer, showing them knowledge of something they weren’t aware they were carrying. So I chose thirty paintings and invited people to pick six they were drawn to. I asked them to write down what they saw. Their answers were all different. But when I looked at each person’s collection, there was always a thread. A theme that pointed to something buried just beneath their surface. A quiet echo of something they were feeling and always knowledge they didn’t fully realize. Maybe lack of purpose or a creative block. Maybe grief or confusion. But their theme always provided a direction or a path forward. And that’s when I realized….these paintings weren’t just about self-expression. They were a window into something deeper. A way for people to see what they didn’t know was just below their surface. And it all started with a Fox only my mother could see. To learn more about me, my story, or how these paintings have helped others discover their own inner landscapes - or to explore a personal reading or print, visit https://www.artandsouldmaria.com.