Drawing the Soul: How Art Can Be a Path to Self-Realization and Spiritual Awareness By Mano Sotelo

Painting the Soul: How art can be a path to self-realization and spiritual awareness?
By Mano Sotero

Throughout human history, visual arts have not only helped us to glorify and communicate, but also to guide us inwards. Approaching with intention, the creative process becomes a meditative practice through drawing, painting and visual storytelling, providing a path to healing, transformation, self-realization and spiritual growth for both artists and viewers.

Art as psychological development

Unlike language, visual representations are not bound by grammar, syntax, or word order rules. For this reason, creating images of emotions and abstract concepts, such as love, fear, sadness, etc., is easier than clarifying them in words. This is the heart of art therapy, viewing creative practice as a means of expressing unconscious, complex internal states and supporting psychological healing. Once the artwork is complete, being uninvolved can open up space for insights, discoveries and meaningful dialogue.

By creating from an introspective lens, the artist may start with a consciously framed question. What do you think about this topic? What do I value? What do you think? Who am I? The resulting image will be more about visual responses about emotional releases and more about symbolic thoughts. These externalized dialogues clarify the inner reasoning and lead to critical reflection. In this way, the act of arts becomes a tool for examining one’s perspective, clarifying beliefs, and examining the boundaries between perception and truth.

In my own practice, I have found that drawing from imagination – being able to see spiritual images – can bring unconscious beliefs and emotions to the surface. While working on a panel of two figures for a war in heaven, I gradually realized that the tension between them reflected a personal inner conflict that I had no intention of portraying. What began as a simple illustrative choice became a doorway to emotional insights. With careful attention, the artwork itself becomes a mirror. It reflects not only emotional content, but deeper layers of identity and personal history. As art therapist Kathy Multiodi writes, “Art therapy is not about learning to draw or draw, but about learning to see” (Malchiodi 15).

Drawing as a dedication: Art as a contemplative prayer

Beyond psychological insights, art also serves as spiritual practice. In the loneliness of the studio, drawing from observation can promote mindfulness, and rendering symbolic shapes becomes a form of prayer. In this sense, studios become a kind of sanctuary.

Traditions around the world have long used visual symbols (icons, mandalas, sacred geometry) to foster spiritual awareness. There is a rich history of creating images of God as a means of reflection, respect and communion with the sacred people across cultures. When approached to creative processes with humility, existence, and openness to mystery, artists do not simply portray them.

How do you describe God, or God? In my graphic novel War in HeavenI explored the struggle between opposing spiritual forces: the spirit of good and evil, the archetype of God found in both Eastern and Western traditions. Each panel became a way of symbolically rendering invisible dynamics not only within the story but also within the self and the broader human experience. What began as visual storytelling has often evolved into a meditative practice. The long-time painting became a moment of quiet meditation, gradually deepening its connection to both the sacred and psychology.

Create meanings for artists and audiences

Art invites both the artist and the audience into a deeper awareness. When artists share work rooted in inner search and spiritual research, they extend the invitation to others. The image becomes a container for contemplation. It is a visual form that allows viewers to get a glimpse of something beyond themselves.

As I wrote in my recent reflection, when creative processes are shaped by observation, reflection, meditation, or prayer, “the resulting artwork becomes more than a product, a reflection of the sacred world” (Sotero).

By embracing artmaking as both psychological excavation and spiritual dedication, we begin to see not only who we are, but also our relationship with the world around us. Making art becomes a way to access the present moment, and ultimately creates a path that leads to artwork that reflects both ourselves and God.

The cited works

Malchiodi, Cathy A. Art Therapy Source Book. McGraw-Hill, 2007.

Sotero, Mano. “Observation, reflection, meditation, prayer through the creation of art.” Sotelo Studio, January 1, 2024, www.sotelostudio.com/post/observation-contemplation-meditation-and-prayer-through-the-creation of-of-of-of-art.

About the author

Mano Sotelo, BFA, MFA and MBA are Arizona-based artists, writers and educators. His graphic novel War in Heaven It serves as a visual all-talk of belief, conflict, and quest for inner peace. Mano presented her creative works at conferences held at Harvard Seminary, Oxford University and Sapienza University in Rome. His art has been exhibited at museums such as the Alexandria Museum, the Tampa Museum and the Coos Museum, and has been recognized by artist magazines and international artist magazines. See more details at www.sotelostudio.com.