HelloOoOo!
Who
I’m Emily, an imaginative artist from Upstate New York, now based in Chicago.
How
I started painting when I was young. Some of my earliest memories are of pure frustration… watercolor paints that did not have enough pigment, expression was hard.
In second grade, I won a contest for a painting of a girl at an easel in a field of flowers. Looking back, it feels a little ironic considering how deeply I would return to painting later in life.
I stepped away from art for many years to pursue other paths. Eventually, I came back to it. This time, with the intention of finding meaning and expressing something I couldn’t put into words.
I moved through different mediums along the way: pastels, then acrylic, and now oils. Today, I work with a limited palette: red, blue, yellow, and white. Self-mixing colors provides a richness that you cannot get otherwise.
Self-discovery
Self-discovery didn’t arrive as a single moment for me. It came through a series of obstacles, and the ways I moved through them formed something like a labyrinth.
TRE, EFT tapping, shadow work.
Acupuncture, cupping, moxibustion, electroacupuncture, reflexology.
Meditation, somatic movement, breathwork, reiki.
Astrology, hypnotism, craniosacral therapy, yoga, EMDR, family constellations, IFS, embodiment work, vagus nerve stimulation.
Fasting, infrared sauna, cold plunge.
Spiritual and philosophical paths wove in and out of that maze too: Kabbalah, A Course in Miracles, Advaita Vedanta, non-dualism, Taoism, Hinduism, Sikhism.
Alongside them, symbolism and story… Jung, Freud, Greek mythology, Meso-American spirituality, tarot, the I-Ching.
And books that shifted something in me: The Self-Aware Universe by Amit Goswami, The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri, Stalking the Wild Pendulum by Itzhak Bentov, Michael Newton books, David R. Hawkins, and Peter A. Levine.
Quantum physics, metaphor, the left-hand path and the right-hand path.
Even the “dark night of the soul” had its place. Destined to end in triumph.
And just as much as any modality…
my friends, my family, and the stranger in the street who triggers me.
To all of it, I say thank you.
Somewhere along the way, I began moving from reactivity to chosen response.
It’s been humbling. Most of the time 😉.
And it’s allowed me to create a more meaningful, more enriching experience of being alive.
Inspired by
My work is deeply influenced by the Eastern idea of learning through doing. Understanding doesn’t come first… it emerges through action.
I’m moved by the idea that worth is intrinsic to every human being. That we fit together in a kind of invisible harmony… reflecting one another like mirrors. One consciousness, expressing itself in countless forms shaped by location, conditioning, and the body.
Travel has deepened that understanding. I’ve been to over 20 countries, and each one has shifted my perspective, expanding the human experience into something that feels both more unified and more beautifully diverse.
And lately, it feels like around me imagination is fading. With everything at our fingertips. AI makes things faster, easier. To imagine is a skill.
Many esoteric traditions say “all is mind.”
If that’s true, then imagination isn’t just decoration… it’s creation itself.
It shapes our experience.
And in that, there is more freedom than we’ve been taught to see.
Process
A lot of my process is embracing “randomness”… and realizing that much of my subconscious isn’t random at all. I’ll bring together abstract ideas, then watch them play out in my life like puzzle pieces. It feels prophetic in the coolest way.
I often begin a piece without a fixed plan. Intuition, emotion, free will, and the medium itself guide me. The canvas becomes a space of dialogue. Mistakes aren’t failures, they’re the backbone of creativity. Every stroke is a chance to discover something new, not just about the work, but about myself.
Sometimes images flood my mind in almost cinematographic ways—floating ribbons, stage-like appearances, light, smoke… slow, slightly eerie, but always detailed.
I pride myself on having few limits in my creative process, leaving the door open to whatever wants to be seen or revealed.
I share glimpses of my process, new works, and the inspirations behind them on Instagram @em.stew.art. I’d love to connect with you there.
What
I paint what I see in my mind’s eye to share my inner world and to inspire others to follow their own soul’s journey—no matter how strange or obscure.
Through my work, I hope to awaken feeling and offer permission to be unapologetically real.
I explore themes of darkness and light, the soul, culture, abstraction, conception, life, travel, sexuality, and love. I aim to translate the invisible textures of human experience into color, form, and movement. This list is constantly evolving, as well.
ART·OOPIA
/ärt-ˈō-pē-ə/
noun
- A painting that appears to look back at the viewer.
Every piece is an artoopia; you don’t just see it, it sees you.
It’s a visual diary of my journey through the landscapes of consciousness, spirituality, and self-discovery. Each painting is a dropped pin in my life—moments of immersion, presence, and surrender to the process itself. Not as a means to an end, but as a way of “having a crack at life,” respecting the entire journey as one.
ARTOOPIA offers both original artwork and high-quality prints that bring these visions into your space. Whether you’re drawn to a piece for its aesthetic beauty or its deeper resonance, each work is meant to be a companion on your own journey of transformation.
Outside
When I’m not creating, I’m often traveling to places that expand my perspective, or simply sitting with the mystery of existence. All of it feeds the work. All of it becomes art.
Like exercise, cooking, reading, music, nature—romanticizing life in the small, quiet ways.
I also write—blogs, longer pieces on platforms like Medium and Elephant Journal, and a growing collection of poems tucked away in my notes. Writing has been a cathartic way to release what I’m resisting or learning to accept. Sometimes it feels like so much of life is simply that… acceptance.
Unity
If a particular piece speaks to you, or if you’re interested in commissioning something that reflects your own journey, I’m here for that conversation.
Art is meant to be a dialogue, not a monologue.
Explore the collections, find what resonates, and bring a piece of transformation into your world.
It is my pleasure to share with you what lights me up, I’m glad you’re here.
