ABOUT THE ARTIST

NICOLE MCNEILL
Shamanic Artist

Nicole McNeill (Shamanic Brush Stroke) is a shamanic artist who creates black-and-white automatic drawings, transforming chaotic intuitive linework into symmetrical compositions that introduce containment without suppressing spontaneity. Rooted in visionary shamanic practice, her work explores how order emerges from disorder, using structure as a means of revealing meaning rather than premeditated design or imposed control. This philosophy is embodied in her work Balancing Chaos, where intuitive movement resolves into symmetry without losing its original vitality.

Her process reflects the dynamic relationship between chaos and order, where structure illuminates rather than dominates disorder. Influenced by shamanic practice, Jungian psychology, yin/yang (Daoist philosophy), mandalas, and sacred geometry, each drawing functions as a medium through which messages are revealed and completed through interpretation. By limiting the palette to black and white, McNeill emphasizes contrast, balance, and archetypal form, inviting viewers into a contemplative space where intuition and structure coexist.

McNeill’s practice resides within conceptual, spiritual, and experimental frameworks. Through automatic drawing, she employs reductive methods to reveal the unconscious and subconscious mind. In this transparency, nothing is concealed: layers of perception unfold—images within images—encouraging viewers to look beyond surface appearance and engage with symbolic depth.

In addition to automatic drawing, McNeill works with the spiritual gift of automatic writing.  This practice extends into her tarot card creations, where both imagery and narrative arise. The written word becomes a conduit for revelation. As a traveling shamanic artist inspired by the landscapes and cultures she encounters, McNeill allows her surroundings to guide the automatic drawings and writings. 

Her nomadic practice embraces mobility and openness, enabling her to respond to vision of an experience in real time while maintaining creative fluidity. Beyond framed artworks intended for reflection and meditation, McNeill also creates divinatory tarot decks and sacred wearable garments. Whether experienced as wall-mounted meditation pieces, worn as sacred clothing, or automatic drawings and writings used in divination practices, her work operates as a bridge—where chaos becomes clarity.