All painting (and paintings) take us on a journey, a process leading to revelations and often, greater insights. My art has been a testimony to such insights and searching for the mystery in life. The Earth Lion I painted in 2009 was the pinnacle point of my ‘personal journey’ as an artist.
A lion presence, a force, had been with me for decades. They first appeared to me in dreams since the beginning of the millennium. I remember on several occasions seeing a ‘lion man’ in my dreams, one that resembled myself at that time. Lions seemed to be with me through this period of creating esoteric art and illustrations. So much so, I went on to be inspired to write wrote a small illustrated novel in 2007-8 based on the ‘coming of the lions’ - ‘lion consciousness’. The book became part of a trilogy of stories called the Kokoro Chronicles (A new book out for winter 2025).
The lions never left my side through 2008 into to 2009 as I continued to feel their presence, draw and paint. I researched many various strands of what the lion meant to ancient peoples and cultures that had venerated the Lion through art, symbols and myth.
In 2009 I attended an artists residency in Northern California, Nevada
City (courtesy of Dana Lynne Andersen) where I started to make imagery based on higher consciousness, looking at the wider subjects relating to world peace.
I took around 10 flights over America in 2009 and returned again in 2010 to journey across the South and Midwest of North America, across the Navajo and Hopi Indian reservations on a mammoth road trip. On my return to the UK, I organised a ‘retrospective’ exhibition of paintings based on my travels, and what I was feeling. World Peace and ‘Draw not War’ became a focus for the exhibition
It was in the autumn of 2009 when I started to paint the lion I now call Earth Lion Consciousness. The lion image appeared on the book cover of, Human Race Get Off Your Knees, The Lion Sleeps No More by David Icke in 2010. Besides many other images created at this time, this lion is still viewed as an icon of our time and the era of ‘awakening’ to our true power, collectively.
The year 2010 brought further travel as I went to New York with David and saw my lion for the first time in digital form enlarged on the screens of the Nokia Theatre in Times Square. The imagery flashed up all weekend at the Nokia Theatre where David addressed several thousand people.
This was a Seminole event for me, and a realisation that my work had reached a larger audience. What followed was a surge of inspiration and desire to bring ‘lion consciousness’ into my life, my reality. The same year an Alberta art schoolteacher, Wendy Salter, celebrated my work through initiating a fantastic lion project through her pupils leading towards a large exhibition of children’s art.
Over the autumn of 2009, I painted several large-scale canvases, from my studio in Hungerford, West Berkshire, where I lived for almost 15 years. I produced all of my lion images from this location, situated south of Oxford on the legendary spine of ancient Albion. One painting came to me during this period of creativity, another lion image I called ‘Christ Lion Consciousness’, and both Earth Lion and Christ Lion were ‘brothers’ symbolically. They were painted together, or, lets say birthed together. They are both celebrated by the 15-year re-launch of my imagery.
The Lion and the Star
During the past two decades, I have been accused of being a Freemason, even a Luciferian on social media, because I painted the Christ Lion, with the Star of David on its forehead. Most who have uttered such silliness have not really studied symbolism properly. The Star of David is actually an ancient emblem found in sacred geometry (the 'seed of life'), and goes way back to its original use in Babylon and Egypt (and before), as a symbol of the star of 'Heaven on Earth'. Yes, it has been used as a symbol of Saturn worship and the six-pointed star is a Kabbalistic symbol that forms part of the ‘Sigil of Saturn’ for those that use its power for evil deeds. But for those who know symbols are simply energy, they can be utilised for good, too. The Star of David can also represent the ‘birth of new life’ and was/is considered the number of the perfected man/woman. Da Vinci used the same knowledge in his Vitruvian Man image to represent Heaven (divine form) descending on Earth (the circle squared). If there is a ‘New Jerusalem’, for me, it is a ‘non local’ place, found in our hearts. The Gnostics and Cathars knew these truths and were violently removed because of this knowledge (or Conscientia in Latin) is 'Consciousness'.
Lion Consciousness
In the ancient world art was a symbolic language, a science, and native people had a higher understanding of how sun cycles and the change in magnetic energy affected all life on earth.
26,000 years ago our native ancestors entered the caves of Mother Earth to depict and draw what they felt as a massive redevelopment of their consciousness, their bodies and environment. Spirals, suns, circles, animals (lions) on the move, all capture the effects on cave walls of the energies that our native ancestors were feeling at that time. Therefore, It is no surprise to see that one of the oldest pieces of art in the world is a ‘Lion-headed humanoid’ found in 1939 in a cave named Stadel-Höhle in Hohlenstein in the Swabian Alps, Germany. Those who have followed my art over the past two decades will notice that I not only like to paint lions, but I am attempting to bring their consciousness into our reality. Lion consciousness’, as I call it, has been symbolised in ancient art, not least in the portable piece found at the Stadel cave. Much symbolic art associated with the lion can relate to the power of ‘light’ and ‘truth’ (the Truth Vibration).
In the Bible, the winged Lion is also connected to this 'force' or ‘power of the ‘word’ (Logos) and this symbol comes from St. Mark's description of John the Baptist's voice ‘crying out in the wilderness’ (Mark 1:3). John’s voice was said to have sounded like that of a ‘roaring lion’. The nature of the paintings, like much of my art and illustration are trying to convey this power within, to roar and step into our truth.
The Christ Lion and the Lion consciousness are ‘born again’ through these images 15 years later.
For my prints and original canvases see here
Hello Neil,
Bringing your art into the classroom for the ‘Lion Project' remains a highlight today. Students so engaged and connected with creativity at a high level of consciousness that reflected in their art and artist statements, culminating in award winning art, recognized in our school district here in Edmonton and featured in several key exhibits, too. Lasting memories for students and teacher when our art room was positively active, inspired, and glowing. And students were thrilled to know you saw their work in progress through to completion. That's the way it should be. The latest painting featured here is a testament to the vitality, skill, and ongoing inspiration you bring. It's an honour to be mentioned in this article.…