Finding spirit in Art
Some paintings arrive like whispers.
This one danced in — full of rhythm, colour, and a kind of joy that surprised me.
I didn’t set out to create spiritual art, but looking back, Stomp feels like a moment of connection — to people, to the land, to something greater.
I’d just taken a short break to see one of my oldest, dearest sangha friends in Dallas — the kind of trip that reminds you who you are when life has been a bit too serious for too long….
I’d spent many months supporting my mum and caring for my dad. I didn’t know then that my time with him would be so short. I just knew I needed time out, some open sky, and a little space to feel again.
While I was away, we visited a Native American reserve. There, I had the chance to witness a Chickasaw stomp dance. The women led the rhythm with turtle shells tied around their ankles, filled with smooth stones from the river. They moved in a circle, singing stories about daily life and making prayers — the kind of ancient ritual that takes you somewhere else and wraps me in awe.
There was a fire at the centre of the dance, and I loved the idea that the smoke carried their prayers upward.
It was beautiful. Earthy. Completely alive.
That moment stayed with me.
Painting as a Way Back In
When I got home, I started sketching, a memory, a feeling. Something about the pulse of it, the bold colours, the laughter in the movement. The stones that rolled like water creating waves of rhythm as they danced. A celebration of life. It all started to find its way into this composition.
The painting is called Stomp, and it carries so much — not just the rhythm of the dance, but a celebration of connection — a kind of circle of connection between people, the natural world, and the spiritual world.
The sky took time.
I wanted it to feel layered and alive, wide and shifting, full of colour.
From the campfire, small white flecks rise upward.
Are they embers or stars?
Uniting the Pure Land above and the earth below.
Finishing this painting took time. My dad became very sick, and I had to stop working on it. He passed into the clear light before I was ready to return. But when I did, I remembered a moment — one of my favourites — of him at his happiest. He’d been drumming with international volunteers at the temple, under the moon on a Menorcan hilltop. They sang and played with such abandon. He was in his element. It’s one of my favourite photos of him.
For me, Stomp is about the joy of being alive.
That childlike purity as the rhythm kicks in and we dance around a campfire.
When we forget ourselves.
When all feels good and life seems to be in natural harmony under a big, wide sky.
Bring Stomp Home
Celebrate rhythm, memory, and connection with a piece of art that tells a story. Now available with free shipping as:
A4 Giclée Print – £24
A3 Giclée Print – £38
10-Pack Greeting Cards – £14
Small Framed Canvas – £56
