artist profile:  dorothy warly

“My art liberates my analytical mind and provides a channel to my creativity. Intuition plays an integral role in my work. Surrendering to my inspiration provides me the gift of being the first observer of the physical manifestation of an unconscious process.”  Dorothy Warly

Interview by Victoria Drake

This charismatic and larger-than-life woman, enjoyed a long and successful career in International Finance and Corporate Banking in Toronto, Canada. She has multiple degrees and speaks fluent English, Hungarian, German and French.

In her personal life, she and her husband, raised 4 successful daughters – 3 of which are triplets.

In early 2017, Dorothy experienced a painful and heart-wrenching divorce from her husband. The painting below represents her anguish and her mind-boggling agony during her divorce. What comes out of pain is sometimes beautiful.

Tell me when you became artistic. Are you like so many other artists who have been creative and artistic all your life?

Absolutely not! At most, I was a doodler in my formative years. I had A.D.D. and had trouble focusing -- doodling provided a modality to organize my thoughts. My inspiration and my ability to be creative and artistic did not come until 24 years ago when I experienced a near-death experience while pregnant with my triplets.

Your near-death experience opened up your artistic capabilities?

Actually yes. I was admitted to the hospital three weeks before my due date – because of complications. The hospital staff immediately began administering a drug that would accelerate the development of the children’s lungs should they be born prematurely. As with all drugs, there are side-effects which would later prove to be very relevant.

After several days in the hospital, I had a premonition – I told my husband that I thought something bad was going to happen to me that day. As a side note, I have always had a strong intuitive nature and some psychic abilities.

My doctor and my cardiologist took my concerns seriously, but after they examined me, they assured me that I looked great, and that I would be just fine.

They were wrong.

That evening, I felt like I was going into labor.

Shortly after, I felt a huge clamping on my chest and I went into a traumatic state and was unable to breathe. I remember the nurse yelling at me, “Breathe Dorothy, breathe! – Don’t leave us Dorothy, you are not going to leave us!”

The last thing I remember was looking at the nurse’s beautiful big eyelashes as I felt the urge to leave my body, which I did. I felt myself floating as I went up to this place - it was getting brighter and brighter and more peaceful and beautiful as I went along. It was the most incredible experience of my life.

I felt like I was one with the Universe – I was complete. It was a feeling of the most incredible peace and contentment that I could ever have imagined. I knew I wanted to stay and never leave.

Incredible. Did you see departed family, or any of the other things people that have had near-death experiences speak about?

No, I didn’t see Jesus or departed family or anything like that – but there was some sort of energy that was telepathically communicating with me in this special place.  I ‘felt’ it (telepathically) rather than heard it, but I understood the message that I was receiving loud and clear. I was being drawn to this energy and truly felt that I was being surrounded by unconditional love and complete understanding.

But then, in an instant it seemed, I felt as if I were being pulled back through a tunnel towards Earth and the warm soothing light was growing smaller and smaller as I moved away from it unwillingly. I was also receiving the message from this ‘energy’ that I had to go back – that it was not my time. To say that I was disappointed, would be an understatement.

So, what happened next?

I went on to deliver 3 healthy baby girls. What I began to realize was that this experience had dramatically heightened my intuition and given me a gift – the ability to paint. Of course, I wouldn’t realize that I had this new gift until much later.

Within months, I knew my intuition was out of control – I was getting clairvoyant images and when meeting people, I began to ‘know’ so many things about them that I shouldn’t know – even by just walking by them. I had no control over it.

I also began experiencing all of these “energies” around me – deceased people, and other unknown entities. I was beside myself; not knowing how to cope with it all.

In our home, our appliances, the television, our lights – would all turn off and on by themselves. Neighbors visiting our home also experienced unusual activity. It was unnerving! All of this just confounded me and I didn’t know how to control it. My spouse is a medical scientist and he was equally perplexed.

I even spoke to a priest thinking he might be able to help me control what was happening. He told me that I needed someone with a little more experience to be able to ground me so that I could close the antenna (the crown chakra) a little bit and keep it under control.

The priest recommended a woman who did a special ritual with me teaching me how to control what I was experiencing. She was a God send. Trying to keep a semblance of sanity attending to 4 children under the age of 2 while dealing with this unusual phenomenon was an almost impossible challenge.

I started doing free readings for my friends – helping them reconnect with their life purpose and helping them understand the ethereal side.

Eventually, through word of mouth, The Royal Canadian Mounted Police contacted me and asked me to help them with a missing person’s case. They gave me a map of Canada and asked me what I needed. I asked for some property of that person – jewelry, clothing, – something that was personal.

They had no idea of where this person may be, but I was able to calculate within all of Canada, to within a five to ten-mile radius of where this person was located. Unfortunately, it was too late, but the person was found with my help.

 I also assisted with a murder case, stalking case in Colorado and a missing person case.

What a life you’ve lead so far. When did you finally realize you now had this new gift to paint?

It happened about a year after my triplets were born. I had recurring dreams about painting – and they would not go away. I just kept having this overwhelming feeling that I should be painting.

One day, I went to Hobby Lobby with the intention of buying sewing patterns for my daughters. I asked for assistance and help never came. I found myself wandering around in the art department and bought art supplies – having no idea what I was doing. I went home and I began. What I started creating surprised me. As I mentioned, I had only ever doodled and that was when I was a young girl – and always in black and white. The only time I used colors was when I tried doing paint by numbers, again only as a young girl.

It was almost as if the inspiration (and the ability) was being channeled through me – each and every time I painted, and I would go into a weird meditative state and then be amazed at what was created.

Is your intuition and your channeling ability as strong today as when it began 24 years ago?

Yes, it’s as strong as ever, but at least I have control over it now.

In closing Dorothy, what message would you like to pass on to others?

I want people to understand that this is a gift that I received. We all receive different gifts in our lifetime and I received this gift for some purpose – I never have had the self-esteem or strength to put my art “out there” in public and I’m OK with that. But now I see – because many have shared this with me – that my work brings them joy or they’ve learned something helpful from my work.

There’s something that my work has that perhaps some other artists don’t have, but we all have our own special gifts. Maybe there’s something in mine that is a little bit different, with something different to offer - that is not of this world – I don’t know – maybe it’s in the colors – I’m not sure.

I’m not a conventional artist – There are moments when I need to paint; an impetuous impulse that I must paint – and then I do.

I am not traditionally trained. I do not make value sketches and sometimes I do not even have an idea of what I will paint prior to commencing a piece of work. But, as soon as the brush touches the canvas, I defer to my intuition and allow channeling to guide my hand in the process of creating art. I trust my gift.

And that’s why there’s a lot of value to my originals – they are something special and so I don’t part with them often – I don’t do a piece a day. Some artists are very commercial in their work – they can create an amazing piece in a couple of hours. I can’t.

Mine just comes when it happens – and when it happens, I paint.

Each one of my works are cherished – a special entity in itself.

“My purpose is to provide a playful canvas that evokes a sense of peace, reflection, fantasy joy and inspires a different processing of the senses for the viewer. Art is my form of mindful meditation. It is an intimate communion with spirit and my heart where time does not exist.”   DW

Dorothy is an active member of the American Watercolor Society and the Colorado Watercolor Society. Her art can be found in private collections throughout Canada, the United States, Hungary, Italy and Switzerland.

To see more of Dorothy’s artwork, please visit her website.