Rika creates beautiful spiritual pictures which she describes as 'images of light beings and their realms'. Born in Belgium, she grew up with a fascination of fairy tales and mythology which led her to take a Masters degree in Art History and Archaeology. Her work draws upon a meditative and inner space which embodies a sense of joy, peace and compassion.
I had the pleasure of asking Rika some questions about her artistic process and also to find out a little bit more about her.

What does intuitive painting mean to you?

To me “intuitive painting” is painting from intuition without a plan or preconception of what I am going to create. I believe that intuition is partially guided by a divine source or the Universe and partially based on knowledge. Before starting a piece I take a few minutes to quiet my mind and connect with the Universe. Then I ask for guidance towards creating something beautiful and meaningful or I ask for a more specific outcome. I believe that what appears are messages of hope, peace, love, joy and compassion. Our studies and experiences store images and theories in our subconscious. I suspect that when we create intuitively we pull from this storage place in order to shape what comes through.

Do you think creating art can be healing?

Of course! I think that creating is always healing for the creator because it involves an interpretation or manifestation and consequently a release of energy. This is probably true for any form of art making. In intuitive painting, when asking the Universe for guidance, we can ask for healing in general or in more specific areas. I believe that the process will be beneficial to inner peace and that what comes through will be messages that support a restoration of inner harmony. This does not only apply to the artist but also to the viewer who chooses to connect with the image.

Your palette is very beautiful. How conscious is your selection process? Is it something that you are guided towards?

Thank you! When I create intuitively my selection process is not conscious at all. I just listen or feel and proceed with what I am receiving. When my logical brain tries to impose color theory I take distance and I reconnect in order to totally rely on guidance or intuition. However I believe that my knowledge of how color works, gathered through study and experience, is stored in my subconscious and that my intuition is pulling from this storage place while creating intuitively.

What is your current source of inspiration?

Nature and its cycles are my source of inspiration. I am inspired by nature, especially by paying attention to the little things like birds making their nests, butterflies landing on flowers, or the intricate details of insects and plants, etc. I believe the sense of wholeness that can be found in nature fuels my intuition and sparks my creativity.

You talk about painting light beings and their realms - what does that mean for you?

Working from intuition for some time has revealed diversity in my body of work. I created fairies, Buddha figures, phoenixes, flowers, benevolent creatures, peaceful landscapes, hybrids, mermaids, angels, portals, geometric shapes, etc. I was trying to find a common thread in it all. I was not seeing it at first but then it dawned on me that the general characteristics were love, peace, joy, hope and compassion. Also all the figures had a mark on their forehead or above. I believe this represents a fully developed third eye that is a sign of clairvoyance and enlightenment revealing insight in the workings of the Universe. So I concluded I must be receiving flashes of light beings and their realms while creating art.

If you could choose to be a fairy, mermaid or Angel, what would you be?

At this moment I am working on figuring out how to be a whole human being. As a human being I feel blessed to get acquainted through creating intuitive art with the possibility of idyllic and harmonious “other worlds” reflecting love and peace.

What are you reading at the moment?

While studying to develop my artistic skills I am also working on developing my business skills. I love books, especially ones filled with images of beautiful art. I also read a lot of books, magazines and online information on art techniques, wellness and fairytales. At the moment I am reading “The Artful Marketer” by Minette Riordan, PH.D. So far I really like it.

What are you listening too?

The song of the birds is my favorite music. I find it very soothing and that’s why I love living in the countryside.

If you had infinite money available to you what would you most like to do with it?

At the moment I am working on being in the moment and developing a sense of contentment while staying in touch with reality. So for now, instead of speculating on how it would be if I had something unrealistic like an infinite flow of money, I prefer studying the phenomenon of abundance, what that really means and how it touches me in my life.

Do you have a favourite motto or saying?

I love sayings but I don’t have a favourite one. However I like browsing on Pinterest for sayings and quotes and when one particularly speaks to me, I pin it on my board “Inspiring Quotes and Poetry”.

I finally finished The Shopkeeper's Apology after three months of pretty immersive work. It was such a wonderful opportunity to illustrate this enchanting story and I loved every minute of it. In fact, I was pretty sad to stop working on it, but the deadline came and the project was finished.

There was a part of me that expected something amazing to happen. I'm not sure what exactly? Maybe fireworks, or a fanfare, or a publisher emailing me and signing me up for a 10 book deal! Everything seemed a little flat afterwards, like the sparkle had dimmed.

But it was a relief too. My brain could finally think about other things and start looking at the bigger picture. I've been able to reclaim that elusive thing called 'balance' and actually think about things that are fun to do.

I even allowed myself to watch a movie! The Wolf of Wall Street, came up on Netflix, so I watched that in goggle eyed amazement. It was a pretty extreme look into the hedonistic and pretty debauched lifestyles on Wall Street and while I've enjoyed some pretty good parties in my time, they took it way over the edge!

So that was a good diversion for an evening and now I'm back to focusing on what next. I'm still getting a lot of benefit from svslearn.com and I know that my work will continue to grow and improve as a result.

I'm not sure when The Shopkeeper's Apology will be coming out as it is up to the author, but I am certainly looking forward to seeing it. I have also asked Theraysa some questions and so it will be great to learn a bit more about her inspiration.

I have found that being a self published author closes some doors to you, as reviewers and book bloggers tend to stay clear! I can understand it in some ways, but it seriously limits your exposure and makes you feel like you have some weird affliction.

With this in mind I'm pretty keen to support quality self published authors and illustrators in the future and will be blogging and reviewing books that are worth sharing....

If you would like to suggest a book that you have found, then please get in touch and I will see if the author would like to be interviewed.

​Thank you for reading and being part of my journey. I think it's just the beginning after all!