Why "mystics, cats, & places"

I am an artist, and my artwork is mainly inspired by mystics, cats, and places. My blog will be devoted to writing about what inspires my artwork.

I love Independent Animal Rescue!

MYSTICS.

Portrait of positive-thinking philosopher Neville Goddard, with a quotation from his writing.

I draw portraits of figures like Neville Goddard who are part of the history of the Positive Thinking or New Thought movement. At difficult times in my life, I have been helped by the ideas of the philosophy of Positive Thinking. If you would like to read more about New Thought, Mitch Horowitz's book "One Simple Idea" is a great introduction.

CATS.

Portrait of a tabby with soulful eyes.

Many of my drawings and other artwork is of cats (and other animals--but mostly cats). Not only am I endlessly fascinated with our feline friends, and live with cats (all rescues), but I have worked with Independent Animal Rescue in Durham, N.C. and care a lot about animal rescue. In my drawings, I attempt to capture the essence of cats and help people to realize that yes, they have souls. I mean, look at those eyes! On a lighter note, I also find cats to be fun and entertaining, and I have a series of cartoons called "Life with Kitties" dedicated to the funny side of cats.

PLACES.

I am also inspired by places. Many of these are historic, and some are everyday places that are historic to me. As an example of an everyday place, I made numerous drawings at the time of my favorite community coffeeshop--and when it was turned into an unrecognizable upscale restaurant, I still had the drawings, and through my drawings I can still visit there any time! I am also interested in local history, and love to draw buildings in historic downtowns.

So there you have it.

Mystics, cats, and places. Of course, I also am inspired by the art of others, and I will also be writing here about the artwork that inspires me. I hope you will join me as I explore my inspirations.

Best,

Tim

“Tim Botta’s artwork brings vivid life to some of the most important figures of mystic history – and reveals the mysticism hiding in our ‘everyday’ surroundings. I am proud to display Tim’s prints of spiritual visionaries. His portraits are more than objects of beauty: They show the world what you stand for.”—Mitch Horowitz, PEN Award-winning author of Occult America and One Simple Idea