Ten years ago I wrote an article entitled Spiritual Coding And Self Discovery: An Exploration Of My Paintings where I explained my painting process. In that post I coined the phrase Spiritual Coding to describe my painting methods;
I like to call my painting technique Spiritual Coding. In the digital world in which we currently live the word coding is used a lot. This of course refers to computer programming. A language for this age. And when I look at my paintings I am also using my own language. A language created through interacting with my ‘inner being’ and this I call Spiritual Coding. My paintings are in many ways remnants of this. Tangible photographs almost of my eternal spirit. Although they don’t capture the processes of my work they are residue formations of intense spiritual journeying and internal searching.
Making The Invisible Visible
I would like to expand further on this by saying that in my paintings I make the fleeting invisible world visible. My eternal shadow is the eternal unconscious ocean of my being. When I paint or create, I dive straight into this quarter. I hesitate to call it a vast empty quarter such as a desert, although a desert landscape can stir inside of me strong almost monolithically primordial visions and by no designs of my own. In my essay from ten years, I compared my paintings to deserts that only become alive as one becomes more connected spiritually with themselves. However, I like the metaphor of the ocean. When one dives into it it is akin to diving into the vast invisible unconscious space of our being. Roughly 70% of our planet’s surface is covered by oceans. The dry land portion of our planet is what is noticeably visible. There are hidden elements but the ocean is the true hidden portion of our world. All we see is just the skin and we are denied easy exploration. Most of the low hanging fruit is on land. When I paint I am taking a dive into this invisible and unknown unconscious world. I don’t know what I’ll discover or find and when I am painting, especially in the deeper more meditative stages of my painting process, it can feel like it isn’t me consciously painting.
Painting From The Eternal Source
Any recurring symbols or motifs in my paintings are from that same place. Like those created by prehistoric cave painters, for example. Some people say that all art is political, but I give the pollution and toxicity of politics and even culture a wide birth. It is all an anathema to the eternal source. These are ephemeral things that burn bright for just a very brief interval in the grander passage of time.
I paint at varying, alternating degrees of tempo. I don’t paint at one consistent speed. At times I attack the canvas whereas at other times I am more restrained like a cautious diligent heart surgeon carrying out a complex operation. In this moment when I decide to apply the next brush stroke is of great importance to me since by applying the stroke in the wrong place or too prematurely can alter the entire composition and metamorphization of it. Some artists say that there are no mistakes and I guess that is generally true. However, in these moments I do not have the luxury to make mistakes.
When explaining my painting process in the past I may have placed a big emphasis on spontaneity and that is a core part of my painting process. Part of “Spiritual Coding” is that direct connection to the eternal source with no external fleeting elements standing in the way. However, there are times when I have to look and observe at the totality of the composition so far before I can continue any further. Mark Rothko, for example, would spend a great deal of time observing his paintings, of what he had created so far, before continuing and making his next move. Whereas an artist like Jackson Pollock had that perpetual spontaneous carnal ferocity. I have both; painting in different tempos and time signatures. Often spontaneous, but also more controlled. However, the eternal source always guides me. When I paint, I very seldom reference any external material like any preliminary sketches for example. And that is what Spiritual Coding is; letting the eternal source be my guide.
By Nicholas Peart
9th August 2026
(c)All Rights Reserved
Image: “Deep Forest Spirits (1/3)” (2020) by Nicholas Peart
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