Dr. Ernest Holmes is one of my favorite writers in the positive-thinking movement. His inspiring books include his classic text “Science of Mind” as well as works like “Creative Mind” and “This Thing Called You.”

In his classic history of the New Thought movement, “One Simple Idea,” historian Mitch Horowitz writes: “Ernest Holmes was a Maine Yankee who remade himself as a California mystic—and became one of New Thought’s greatest shapers and popularizers. While never widely known, Holmes stood at the center of Hollywood’s mystical scene in the first half of the twentieth century, attracting admirers from Cecil B. DeMille to Elvis Presley.”

I completed a portrait of Dr. Holmes today. I wanted to concentrate on using fairly large areas of black so the drawing wouldn’t look washed out but instead show some bold contrast.

I hope that I was able to capture the wisdom and kindness (and humor!) of Dr. Ernest Holmes in this ink portrait.

Starting out with Graphite

Starting out with a preliminary drawing, as accurate as possible, made with a Staedtler HB graphite pencil.

“To overcome fear is the greatest adventure of the mind.” —Dr. Ernest Holmes

Inking with a Fountain Pen

Enhancing the drawing of Dr. Holmes with a fountain pen.

Adding ink with a fountain pen to my portrait of positive-thinking pioneer Dr. Ernest Holmes.

“Prepare your mind to receive the best that life has to offer.” —Dr. Ernest Holmes

The Completed Portrait

Portrait of Dr. Holmes, ink on paper.

I hope you enjoyed this glimpse into how I create a drawing and what inspires me. And if the work of Dr. Holmes intrigues you, I hope you will check it out—I think you will find it very rewarding!

“There is a power, and it does work, and it’s working right now.” —Dr. Ernest Holmes

One of my favorite quotes is by positive-thinking pioneer and author of "Think and Grow Rich" Napoleon Hill:

A digital drawing I made of Napoleon Hill with his words of wisdom.

I committed myself to being an artist during a difficult time in my life. You know those tests that assign points to stressful life events? A number of those events occurred in a short period of time so my score was pretty high. One thing that helped get me through this time was the New Thought or Positive Thinking movement, especially books by mind-power pioneers like Neville Goddard and Joseph Murphy.

Dr. Joseph Murphy taught the power of the subconscious mind.

During this time, my friend Mitch Horowitz challenged me to create a body of work featuring portraits of New Thought heroes like Neville and Dr. Murphy. And so for the past four years or so I have been creating portraits of positive-mind philosophers.

My friend Mitch Horowitz challenged me to portray the giants of positive thinking.

Emma Curtis Hopkins, the "teacher of teachers"

"The Power of Positive Thinking" author Norman Vincent Peale.

The truly heroic Helen Wilmans.

This was Neville's reply when someone urged him to compromise his message.

The legendary Dr. Holmes

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As you can see I like combining pictures and words

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"Every day in every way, I am getting better and better." Émile Coué inspired the Beatles.

Marcus Garvey was inspired by mind metaphysics.

Positive thinking goes Steampunk.

And so it was during a time of adversity that I committed myself to being an artist, and embraced the philosophy of positive, transformative thought. Once I committed myself to this project of portraying New Thought Heroes, I gained confidence and a sense of purpose. I no longer was just sketching without a sense of meaning. And I now had a Definite Chief Aim-- to become a professional artist. My sense of purpose changed all of my artwork. My drawings of cats now had the purpose not just of capturing their beauty and personality but also to help promote animal welfare and animal rescue. "Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit..." I hope that this quotation will inspire you as it has inspired me through some difficult hours. I also hope that my artwork will be a reminder (to myself as well!) that this quotation is true. It was during a season of "adversity...failure...heartache" that the seed was planted and I was taught by life to learn--the Art of Positive Thinking.

Neville Goddard as Prometheus bringing the gift of imagination to humanity.

I first learned of Neville Goddard while browsing in a mind/body/spirit bookstore in Raleigh, North Carolina. I was intrigued by the drawing on the cover of an open eye within a heart shaped tree, as well as by what I read of his background--a former dancer and actor from Barbados? And the fact that he used only his first name

A portrait of Neville with one of his favorite phrases.

A few years later, during a difficult time in my life which coincided with my decision to devote myself to my artwork, I started reading Neville again. Neville's message boils down to using your imagination not for wish-fulfillment fantasies, but to actively become the person you want to be. You do this by "assuming the feeling of the wish fulfilled." And don't try to imagine HOW it's going to happen, but instead imagine that everything has already been accomplished. He called it "living in the end" or "living from the end."

Neville says "Live from the End"

Neville said that the best time to imagine yourself as the person you want to be is in that state of feeling sleepy but not quite falling asleep. (For more information on Neville's techniques, life, and philosophy, see "The Miracle Club" by Mitch Horowitz.)

"Neville & the Magical Real-life Cat-nap."

Neville tells us to "deny the evidence of the senses" and concentrate on what we want. When I decided that I was going to commit myself to becoming an artist, I didn't concentrate on whatever weaknesses I saw in my artwork at the time. Instead, I kept before me constantly a vision of myself as creating the kind of art that I wanted to create. I also used active imagination to put myself in the emotional state of being a creative, productive artist. I continue to use these techniques as I work to improve my artwork. I also continue to "assume the feeling of the wish fulfilled" to help me achieve my Definite Chief Aim of being a professional artist.

Neville Goddard used his imagination to get to Barbados.

As "The Magician of Beautiful," Neville taught the magic of using "your wonderful human imagination" to conjure up what you most desire in life. I create pictures of Neville Goddard to remind myself how powerful my imagination can be, and also to pay tribute to Neville as an inspiration. I hope my images of Neville will help inspire you to believe that with your imagination you can become the person that you want to be!

Neville Goddard as "The Magician of the Beautiful."

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