Roberta is an Internationally Published Visionary Artist & Illustrator, and multidisciplinary therapist who specialises in watercolours and is well known for her mastery of colour and vibrancy. The inspiration for her creations stems from her experience of Shamanic living, communing with Spirit, perceiving all experiences as symbolic by nature and acknowledging that everything in this world possesses a spiritual essence, animated and alive.
Her intention is to birth healing artworks that serve as Medicine for the Soul and Psyche. The foundation of Roberta’s paintings is to gift the viewer with the opportunity to engage, reflect and therefore bring to light what needs to be seen, recognised, heard and ultimately healed.
The SoulBird Studio and therapy practice resides in South West London, where all the magic happens.
She has worked with several different International Publishers, including; Hay House UK, Ryland Peters & Small and The Quarto Group, allowing her to collaborate with different authors. Roberta’s illustrations are featured in books, Tarot and Oracle Decks, all of which can be found in SoulBird Art’s Etsy store and most large bookstores worldwide.
Professionally, she is qualified as a Sound Therapist, Hypnotherapist, Reiki Master Teacher and Shamanic Practitioner & Dowser. She also holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Art & Art History and has always had a keen interest in Psychology, Spirituality and the Soul.
Roberta’s early life was a creative one. She grew up in Devon in an artistic family, her Father was a British surrealist artist, framer and talented pianist, and her Mother is South American, a gifted seamstress and artisan making the most unique and beautiful marbled papers. They gave Roberta one of the greatest gifts; from the early age of 6, she received private art lessons from a famous local artist, Sally Porch, who became one of her most important role models in her life. As a young girl, Roberta was and still is a Highly Sensitive Person and had developed an intuitive eye for seeing and feeling where healing was needed.
Within her family, she is known as the peacekeeper and learnt early on how to care for others needing Loving support. At age 14, she enrolled on to a ‘Peer Listening’ course to support fellow students at secondary school, making herself available on school breaks for children of all ages to speak with someone they trusted about anything troubling them. Those years were invaluable early learnings for her later career as a therapist. As she progressed through her teens, Reiki was introduced, and at age 16, she received her first attunement, which assisted her personal healing journey.
During and after her studies at University, she worked in three distinctively different Jewelry retail shops. The first was a Diamond Specialist; the second was an art gallery specialising in handmade jewellery where Roberta handcrafted her own designs of Bridal jewellery before becoming the Manager for ‘Crystals’ in the delightful town of Totnes, one the UK’s leading retailers of crystals, minerals, fossils and semi-precious gemstones. It was at this last retailer where Roberta spent her time studying the healing qualities of Gemstones and opening up even more to the world of alternative healing whilst also gaining experience in the daily running of a professional business, leading a small team to success.
She continued studying various kinds of Spiritual and personal development courses and workshops such as Tarot with Mel Collins, Psychic abilities, Spirit Art, Soul Portraits, Crystal Healing, and Sound Healing. Through these connections, she was eventually introduced to Sacred Plant medicines, Ayahuasca and San Pedro, which brought her professional career full circle back to her love of Art, revealing to her that Art was where her Heart blossomed most, and that was her medicine. It was time to leave the retail world and enter a new one.
SoulBird Art was ‘officially’ born in 2012 as she moved to London to begin her full-time career as an artist.
Her relationship with plant medicines continued to guide her path towards a Shamanic way of living and eventually attracted a small handful of unique teachers into her life to pursue a more focused pathway of learning about Spirit and Healing, which included training as a Sound Therapist and Shamanic Practitioner. This eventually offered her the opportunity to host Sound Baths and offer Sound Healing in her local area and corporate events for relaxation.
Today, as a Visionary Artist, her Shamanic Medicine paintings bridge the worlds between ordinary reality and Spirit, filled with mystery, and you will find a deep love of nature woven into her paintings along with symbolic messages and wisdom to be gained from engaging with them. The Soul, Mother Nature, Healing, Spirit animals, Shamans and Medicine women are all sources of inspiration that are translated onto paper from Roberta’s direct revelation of Journeying between the Worlds.
WEBSITE: www.soulbirdart.com
CONTACT ROBERTA: soulbirdart@hotmail.com
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Instagram @soulbirdart
@roberta.orpwood
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Research, Study & Qualifications
- Bee-Keeping : Twickenham and Thames Valley Bee-keepers’ Association
- Three Year Shamanic Practitioner, Sacred Trust (2019 – extended and ongoing)
- Advanced Training in Classical Shamanism – Sacred Trust – 2018
- Tarot Foundation – College of Psychic Studies 2018
- Professional Reiki Practitioner Diploma – Usui Shiki Ryoho & Usui Reiki Ryoho – Reiki Academy 2018
- Reiki Master / Teacher course – Usui Shiki Ryoho & Usui Reiki Ryoho – Reiki Academy 2017
- Intuitive Reiki – Japanese lineage – Reiki Academy 2017
- Reiki 2 – Usui Shiki Ryoho & Usui Reiki Ryoho – Reiki Academy 2017
- Reiki 1 – Usui Shiki Ryoho & Usui Reiki Ryoho – Reiki Academy 2017
- Diploma in Integral Sound Healing – Sound Healing Academy – 2016 / 2017
- Foundation in Integral Sound Healing – 2016
- Certified Hypnotherapist Training – Past Life Regression Academy 2016
- Past life regression workshop – 2016
- Shamanic Dowsing for Health Advanced – White Serpent Teachings 2016
- Shamanic Dowsing for Health Foundation / Intermediate – White Serpent Teachings 2016
- Core Shamanism course – Ecstasy, Trance and the Shamanic Journey – Sacred Trust -2015
- Foundations in Psychic Development – School of Intuition & Healing – 2014
- Reiki 2 – Usui Reiki Ryoho – 2012 (London)
- Creator of SoulBird Art ~ Freelance Professional Artist and business owner – 2011 – Present
- Supervisory skills – pittman training – 2010
- Tarot Foundation course – 2009
- Manager of Crystal UK Ltd, Totnes Devon 2008 – 2013
- Art History & Fine Art University Degree 2005 – 2008
- Reiki 1 (Jane Van Spyk) – Usui Reiki Ryoho – 2002