Untitled
Oil on Paper
2026

Being of Light
Oil on Paper
2026
Permanent Collection of the College of Psychic Studies, London

Untitled
Oil on Paper
2026

John Edmiston

John Edmiston is a self-taught visionary artist who paints in a deep-trance altered state. As a child he saw shapes and apparitions that either calmed or frightened him. He has since learnt how to go into deep meditative trance to enter these inner worlds. The trance states are short-lived, usually just two to three hours, so he paints quickly and on a small scale. These altered states are like a meeting ground, a transcendent inner realm, a sacred inner space, a journey into the unconscious, into the unknown; to meet ancestors, to meet spirits, to meet whatever is there. He uses automatic modes to initiate the creative process and views any work that is brought forth to be a footprint of the encounter, a surviving fragment, a physical trace of the inner vision, a remnant, all that remains of the experience. He believes if humanity fully understood the continuance of consciousness beyond the death of the physical body, it would make for an enormous shift in both personal and collective evolution. He is represented in private collections, in the permanent collection of The College of Psychic Studies, London, and in the Collection of Mediumistic Art, Munich. He also writes, and his novel ‘Ujung Kulon’ was written in a trance-altered state. He is represented by the Henry Boxer Gallery, London.

“John Edmiston's practice offers a rare insight into an authentic exploration of altered states of consciousness through painting. His commitment to this intensely personal creative process results in work that is both compelling and unlike anything else in the contemporary art landscape. In his otherworldly creations, Edmiston demonstrates how art can become a vehicle for exploring the mysteries of consciousness and our relationship with the unseen.”

Vivienne Roberts - Curator, Writer, Researcher

“John Edmiston creates images through an automatic process in deep states of trance. These works emerge as if on the threshold between everyday reality and a non-ordinary reality. Entities become presences on this threshold appearing to break through a membrane. Sometimes, columns of light seem to pass through these fluid apparitions or appear to cause their emergence. It is like a fleeting flicker of the indescribable. Edmiston manages to capture fleeting spiritual experiences in an enchanting, chromatically reduced style. His works are snapshots from the realm of the unknown which exert an exceptional, hypnotic allure.”

Elmar R. Gruber - Collection of Mediumistic Art, Writer, Researcher

“John Edmiston's work has an immediate effect on the viewer. The faces that emerge feel somehow familiar, yet you can never quite place them — poised on the threshold of two worlds, within touching distance and yet fleeting. John's commitment to meeting these etheric beings is evident in every image, cultivated through his self-taught practice of entering a deep trance state. He moves through their world as a familiar spirit, and the intimacy and trust he has built with them is unmistakable. The faces that emerge in his work seem to know him as an old friend — allowing him to let their wisdom and etheric beauty shine through.”

Gillian Matini - College Principal at The College of Psychic Studies