Why Do I Paint Auras?

The first time I painted someone's aura, I felt magic. I still do. Capturing someone's energy in color and flow creates a unique, beautiful art piece, but it's so much more. For me, painting is more than art. It's an intuitive and spiritual experience. Over time, my aura paintings have become a deeply sacred practice to me. 

Sharing my aura self portrait the day of a pop-up at Moon Lady Plants in Biddeford, ME

I've gotten in the habit of painting my aura at least once a week. It's a way for me to center, ground, tune in, and connect with my higher self. Within my painting, my emotions and path become more clear. I can honor what's within more fully. The things I feel are validated. Anything going unseen can be acknowledged. As I paint and channel, I feel my younger self and older self sitting beside me. I feel my ancestors and Spirit Guides. I feel a sense of trust in my path. I feel a sense of wonder at what is possible. 

I compare my intuitive experience of painting to automatic writing. Both are a way to channel information through a psychic sense. Colors come into my mind's eye. Sometimes colors and shapes appear with the naked eye around an individual. In a reading, I'll sometimes get flashes of images or scenes. I might get certain feelings that have meaning, or get a sudden psychic knowing packed with information. I find that I'm relaxed when I paint, and the motion of it grounds me, both of which allow my higher senses to open up more fully.

As a child I felt connected to my artistic side. I experienced vibes and emotions as color. I would sing channeled songs when alone in nature. I was always creating, always imagining. Looking back, I can see moments when the little flower buds of my psychic gifts formed. There was never a point in my journey that I decided to paint auras. It developed over time into what it is now.

A close up of my aura self portrait on July 26, 2025

I kept the practice of aura painting to myself for a long time. The ability returned to me from my Soul’s memory at a time I needed it most. After multiple back to back painful and traumatic experiences, I felt like all the magic had been wiped away from my life. When I started to paint again in my early 20's, the magic returned. When I painted, I felt safe to dig deep and understand myself. I was able to remember who I really am.

At this time, I started to experience colors again around people, animals, and plants that I could not stop thinking about. It became everything to me. As a cathartic release of what I felt and saw, I started to paint. The more I painted, the more I had psychic knowings and visions that were later validated. My maternal grandmother came to me in Spirit and offered me a path to help others through my art. Memories returned that I had repressed in childhood of psychic experiences with energy and Spirits. Everything in my life started to finally make sense.

At first, for others, the attraction of my aura painting is the entertainment or curiosity of it. Having your energy ready is simply fun! The more we get into the medium, the more the story and truth of the painting unfolds. These readings quickly take on a Soulful, validating, healing vibe. Depending on the needs of the client, aura painting can be like a therapy session or like a spiritual witchy ritual. 

All through my life, I wanted to help people in some way. I always wanted to connect and support, to bring light to someone’s life. I genuinely feel that through my aura paintings, I have found my way of accomplishing all of that. I absolutely love connecting with others and supporting them in our time together. The surprise and amazement of a client never gets old when their reading hits all the right points for them. Sometimes we cry together, often we laugh. Always, we are moved by the accuracy.

I am brimmed with gratitude that my path has led me home to my whimsy, even in my livelihood. I am consistently fascinated and in awe of the way aura painting continues to develop as I share it with the world. Thanks for being along for the ride,

Courtney Deerborn