Amarajyoti is an artist whose practice brings together painting, meditation and a lifelong engagement with creativity as a form of inner exploration. Trained in Art and Design in the 1960s, she went on to teach art for more than 20 years before travelling to India and Ireland to study yoga, later returning to teach yoga and meditation. This meditative foundation continues to directly inform her work, shaping a practice rooted in colour, intuition, symbolism and the physical act of painting.
Working in acrylics and mixed media on canvas, board and paper, Amarajyoti creates from her small garden studio, developing abstract works that explore inner landscapes, consciousness and the unseen energies that connect self and world. Her work has been exhibited widely across the UK, as well as in national and international online exhibitions. Recent highlights include her solo exhibition Paintings on Paper – Mostly in November 2023, Inner Landscapes in Cambridge from April to July 2025, selection for an Opulent Art Magazine feature in November 2025, and inclusion in The Seeds of Change exhibition in Saltaire, near Bradford.
Over the last few years, Amarajyoti’s work has become increasingly abstract, while remaining vivid, expressive and deeply connected to her daily meditation practice.
Are you self-taught, or did you undertake formal artistic training?
Both. I trained at Sheffield, Liverpool and Leeds Art Colleges in the 1960s and 70s. As a painter, I am self-taught, as training in the 60s was about ‘exploration’ rather than teaching!
I worked with textiles and creative embroidery for many years and began to develop my work into painting more seriously about 15 years ago, slowly letting go of the textile work as I became more involved in actually applying paint onto a flat surface. As my eyesight is deteriorating, I am happier with a large brush and bright colours rather than trying to thread a needle. I love the whole physical experience of using paint. It is my happy place!
How would you define your visual language or conceptual approach?
My work is abstract, but I also use symbols from the yogic tradition. I trained in India and Ireland to teach yoga and meditation. Painting, for me, is a meditative experience, where I connect with the process of applying, removing and exploring colour, form and texture on a flat surface. It is wordless and physical, and each piece evolves from this process of discovery.
Original imagery and ideas may come from my daily meditation practice as ethereal concepts, seeds of possibilities, which are then made whole by the act of painting itself. Each painting is a journey to bring into being that which is unknown, from my deepest self, into a solid physical experience. Colour always features strongly in my work, and I often use gold leaf and sometimes imitation jewels.
Can you describe your creative process from conception to completion?
At the moment, I’m working on paper and on quite a small scale, but I usually work on at least two pieces at the same time. I start with a wide brushstroke of colour. I may have drawn a rough outline of a shape previously, or not! I then layer colours and, while wet, remove some of them with tissue paper to create textures. I then build up layers and colours and use collage directly on the wet paint.
I mainly use wide, flat brushes to build up the piece, layering and removing paint with a variety of implements. When I get to a certain stage, I may build into the work with water-soluble crayons, oil sticks or pastels and add finer lines with acrylic pens. I may add gold leaf or jewels. All this is intuitive. There is very little actual thought process involved, and often, if I start to think about the work, I usually have to abandon it, as it becomes something superficial.
At some point, I may feel it is finished, but sometimes I go back to just add a mark or a line at some time in the future. If I am not happy with it, I may leave it for weeks or months and then find I instinctively know what it needs, or I may cut it up or paint over it completely.
It is often more interesting when a painting doesn’t seem to work, as it requires something extra from me to bring it to completion and is all part of the learning process.
Does narrative, symbolism or storytelling play a role within your work?
Before Covid, my paintings were mostly based on landscapes, worked from drawings I did while travelling. During lockdown, the work became much more abstract as I worked on ‘inner landscapes’, and I started to include shapes and symbols, which represent the Tattvas, or elements, as well as the upward-pointing triangle representing Siva, or consciousness, and Hiranyagarbha, the golden egg or womb.
I work very instinctively, so although the paintings may have a story, it often isn’t revealed until it is completed. Some works have been about finding balance amidst difficulties, both personal and global. The use of symbols can often connect us with the deeper parts of ourselves, beyond the conscious mind. Thus, we can use the finished piece as a tool for meditation and to try to connect to ourselves and the world at a deeper level.
I find painting itself a very meditative experience, and the use of symbols helps, I think, to connect me on an energetic level to the world. I often keep titles fairly abstract to allow the viewer to find their own meaning and connection.
Which artists have most influenced you historically or contemporarily, and why?
It is colour that initially draws me in, and I love the use of colour and abstracted shapes in Barbara Rae’s landscapes. I’m always inspired by the mark-making and use of colour in David Hockney’s work. I also love the dynamism, mark-making and vibrancy of Howard Hodgkin’s paintings.
What personal, cultural or environmental influences shape your practice?
Each painting is, in some way, a self-portrait, an expression of a moment in time and of the world as it is right now. We are living in disturbing and turbulent times on this planet. We need to raise our consciousness to create balance instead of mayhem. In a subtle way, maybe, I am trying to heal the world through raising my own consciousness.
It is difficult to talk about my work because I am trying to express or experience something beyond words, something which is part of our deeper selves and the interconnectedness of all.
Where is your studio based, and how does the space inform your creativity?
My studio is behind my house in Nottingham and is very small. This influences how large I can work, so my current work is quite small and on paper to allow for easier storage.
Do you have any rituals or rhythms that anchor your studio practice?
I put on my apron and look at the work, or at a blank piece of paper or canvas. I then settle my mind to come to a place where the painting can come through me. If I find myself thinking about what I need to do, or what colour to use, it usually doesn’t work. It is going beyond thought that allows the piece to emerge from somewhere deeper. Once settled, I may have the radio on, playing classical music.
What bodies of work or projects are you currently developing?
I’m currently working on a series of paintings based on ‘Creation’. We are in dark times in our world, and this led me to the work Creation of Light. I tend not to analyse my paintings too much and, as I work instinctively, I often have no idea where they come from or where they are going. But it felt like I needed to create something positive for myself and the world as a counteraction to the destruction that is happening all around us.
Where can collectors encounter or acquire your work?
Look at my website, which has some of my work on it, but otherwise contact me directly and come and see for yourself.
