The Creative Process, My Version

From the beginning of history, art and its creation have been thought to have a special connection with the divine. As a testament to that, I can tell you that when I’m attuned and ready to paint, absolutely everything is so stunningly beautiful. It’s as if I’m peering through and into another realm of higher reality. My job is to sit in an active meditation and allow the painting to be created through me as I hold that vision. It's a spiritual pursuit, as an active prayer. While engaged in this process I’ve received many gifts such as untangling myself from lots of things that no longer served me. It seems a never-ending pursuit to become free of that stuff, that is, to discern between mind-projection, and, if you’re observing something, what it is that’s truly there. When I get deep into it and relax, the realization ultimately emerges that no-thing is there! Only space.

I made this small oil painting (above) when I was in my early 20's. At that time something special was happening to me, though I was unaware as I grappled with profound disappointment and depression. According to my parents and teachers I should have continued to follow their lead even though it was making me miserable. Putting my intuition and inner self aside in the name of higher education became a slow painful burn. Eventually there came a breaking point and that's when I turned away from all of it.

To save myself I put everything aside I'd been taught and began a self-healing process that involved making art, rewiring my brain and renewing my spirit. I was in my early 20's when I realized I had to fight for my right to be. I'd recently graduated college and I'd lost the most valuable thing I had, me. I had no idea what a dark night of the soul was but it was painfully difficult to face all of what I'd ignored or couldn't make sense of for many years. As I rebuilt myself from the inside out I slowly grew into my true work and founded the principals its still based upon to this day. This little painting reminds me that I can make it through anything and gain strength and clarity in the process.

I'm a painter and when it comes to painting, I’ve always known it's not about what something should be or look like. It's a dialogue with consciousness first and foremost. Though I recognized this early on, I didn't always have adequate words to convey it. Replacing limited consciousness (mind) with the purest presence I could muster was ultimately my goal. A sacred task of sorts.

In the early days, just after I graduated from college, I didn't know what I was doing or where I was going. The system had broken me and I was experiencing profound loss. A change in my trajectory was the only solution. At that point I began to use meditation without even realizing it. I’d innocently embarked on a healing journey that was going to make me whole again. Focusing my heart and mind on what I enjoyed most made a new path for me.

Back then, as I began to re-learn and trust in the process of life, I walked solo through some very uncomfortable territory. I spent hours surrendering to the light of my soul as I was guided to create that which was more in alignment with my inner self. I shed many of the ideas and concepts that had been force-fed to me. Consequently, I've become very good at leading people back into the light of their own truth. I see my artwork as a doorway. If it makes you feel good, it's speaking to you, and that's wonderful. Walk right through that door. You're invited. Welcome. Stay awhile.

When I'm working, the place I go in my interior is key, and my skills, while important are secondary. When I’m connected and in the zone, I create with the heart of my higher self and it all comes through as it's meant to. I’m centered in what I call an ultra-alive, quiet, spaciousness. The energy, that presence or state of awareness comes through and becomes part of the work. It's called an altered state, yet it feels completely normal to me. I've come to understand that it's meant to be normal.

The light-of-life streams through my hands while I'm working. Formerly reserved for creative activity, I now acknowledge this state as my everyday normal. On more than one occasion I’ve been approached on a dance floor and told that streams of color were streaming out of my fingertips. Engrossed in the experience of life, it is life that streams through me when I’m painting and creating.

Our energy field exists at the intersection of spirit and matter which is where everything comes into being & dissolves back into the void. Creation happens at this magical juncture, a place of great potential, & unlimited power. When we get this we know ourselves as creators and the field of potential becomes our playground.
— Leslie Montana

The way we invite form into being is critical when it comes to creation, and it’s an essential key when it comes to making art. Intention and the quality of attention are essential ingredients and can make magic.

The inspiration I experience, my connection to source, comes through my fingertips and embeds itself into my creations. The energetics have been described as palpable by my collectors. My process which involves attention, intention and all that I do to make a work of art, is directed to create the new. That which has never been seen in our reality before. When I embark on behalf of clients it’s called Special Commissions, Exquisite Paintings on the Nature of Flowers, Exclusively for You.

I was born with the gift of vision. It is an integrated part of my being. Nothing woo about it. When I began pondering how I might see and create for the benefit of my collectors, a whole new level of experience opened up for me. I wondered, could I write about this? Would people get it? As I experimented I received confirmation instantaneously. Images arrived in vivid larger-than-life color with interesting concepts for the people I inquired about.

I've always believed beauty to be an important, if not critical gateway to higher self. It loosens the mind from its habitual and destructive habits and lifts us to our greater potential. High-vibrational creations truly serve the whole of humanity. Now more than ever people are willing to see truth and live by it, even if one tiny step at a time. During this major paradigm shift, there's still a great deal of transformation through pain and suffering. Contrast may continue  to guide us as the grip of old paradigm dynamics drops away. Humanity is waking up. Beauty helps. That's what I'm here for.

Leslie Montana