This series was a long time coming, but was really an accidental series rather than an intentional one!

Does it sound cliche to say it started as a dream?

I first had the dream of an owl with a beautiful golden flower of life behind it in January of 2021. Ill be the first to admit, when the universe/spirit/muse shows me something, it pretty much has to scream at me in order for me to take note ( have I mentioned Im a sleep deprived mother of 4?) This owl became a constant in my dreams and thoughts. As a reiki master I have done A LOT of work with animal guides over the past 13 or so years, so I understood that this owl had a message for me, but I still didn’t realize I was getting a kick in the pants to paint him!

Animal Guides

I first started becoming familiar with animal guides about 13 years ago during my Reiki training. (Reiki is a form of intuitive energy work) While I was doing a session for my Master certification I very strongly had a peacock show up, this was incredibly strange to me and I had no idea what it meant, but when we later looked up the symbology of a peacock, it was bang on for the situation the client was going through (something I didn’t know anything about) and from there on, they just kind of stuck around. While they most strongly show up in Reiki sessions, I also often see or pick up on their energies during meditation. They quickly became a way for me to confirm the things that I pick up on intuitively for myself and others, kind of like how tarot cards work for some people.

Our connection to the earth and its creatures is always there whether we realize it or not. Even if you live in the tallest tower there is probably some sort of animal or critter around you, and he’s probably carrying a message for you! Many people have an animal that they consciously connect with strongly and have a lot in common with personality wise. This is likely your Power Animal, an animal that guides and supports you throughout your human journey. There are also other animals that will just pop in from time to time for some extra support or guidance in your current situations. You can also call on these animals specifically yourself if you ever need a little back up! These animals may show up in dreams, mediation, on TV, books, other peoples clothing, advertisements, or physically right in front of you with their message! (And if you don’t pay attention the first time they could be pretty persistent until you notice them, like my owl was)

Owl Symbology

As I mentioned above, this owl was persistent! So much so that I was sure I must have seen this image somewhere else so I started searching for it….and came up with nothing. It was then that I started digging a little deeper into what was going on here.

Owls have been a pretty constant guide in my life, which is a little funny because Im actually scared of birds, even though 3 of my guides are more often than not a type of bird. (Im sure there is a deeper meaning here but Ill save that for another day)

Owls are often watching and listening, even though you likely won’t be aware of them. They are deeply wise and intuitive animals and in a guide sense, can help you see through the bullshit.

Barn Owls specifically help you effortlessly open up to love and abundance. Just before I started visualizing this painting (that I didn’t know was a painting) I had been accepted into an intensive Art Mentorship Program with the wonderful Linzy Arnott. I was so incredibly nervous for this, not only was I suffering from some major imposter syndrome, but the thought of being open and vulnerable about my life, art and business with a group of strangers (now family) made me feel sick to my stomach. I believe the Barn Owl was there to support me on the start of this journey and I then felt the need to paint him.

The Beginning

This was where I once again started to feel intimidated. While I now had the strong urge to paint this owl, the past few years Ive painted an animal here and there (funny enough I didn’t realize until much later I had actually painted 2 of my kids own Animal Spirits for them) but my main focus had been mostly on abstracts and landscapes.

I don’t think Ive ever had such a clear vision about every detail of a painting from start to finish as I did with this one.

From the abstract smoky background to the gold leaf flower of life, I could see it all so clearly and dove in. I must say, this painting poured out of me effortlessly. I have some major procrastination issues that I like to blame on my kids, so paintings can usually take anywhere from weeks to months for me, but this guy came together in record time. In fact he was finished right as my mentorship program was beginning. This was the painting that bared my heart and soul to a bunch of strangers on the internet, and the love and support I received for it was overwhelming. My mentor Linzy picked up right away that this was meant to be a series of some sort, maybe an oracle deck eventually (never say never) but I was still thinking this was a one time thing, that theres no way that I could align with pulling that off again.

While I had kind of been feeling somewhat aimless in my art, this owl and my art fam, through a lot of mediation and deep, vulnerable conversations, helped me open up to accepting the possibility of allowing more into my life. More joy, acceptance, support, love, and the knowing that this is something I CAN do.

Thank you for joining me so far on this journey, I am looking forward to sharing more about the creation of this series and will be going more into the sacred geometry, animal meanings from this collection, and my own personal growth in future posts. If you would like to learn more about Animal Spirit Guides, one of my favourite books/resources can be found here.

xo Brandy