Painting has been a real initiation for me into an unlimited inner universe.

After 11 years in the corporate world in Luxembourg, which grounded me firmly into financials, numbers, and figures, my soul urged me strongly into "letting go."

I had studied painting at the Ecole d'Art Contemporain in Luxembourg and participated in my first exhibits there while still working in a full-time job in the financial world. My artistic education made me immerse myself deeply into Kandinsky's color theory. I learned to "feel" color and experience it directly in my body. Warm vs. cold, close vs. far, open vs. closed, or even geometrical shapes connected with color. And for me, another dimension came in — color and sound. I still can hear an inner music while painting, or I see color while singing. These were the gifts I received from my first art teacher, Jean-Marc Tosello.

In 2003, I decided to burn my fears in order to nurture my dreams. How often had I done the inverse and burned my dreams in order to nurture my fears...unconsciously, of course. I was so used to giving in to fears, rather than consciously striving for love in a disciplined way.

I was at a point in my life where I needed to take risks and learn to fly. And I went flying, not only from Luxembourg to New York City, but my Spirit Being opened her wings and took flight! Needless to say, I got into storms and fell, but there was always a wind carrying me back up...

I remember hearing that, once we venture out on the quest to find love (which for me is loving myself, ultimately), the entire universe conspires to manifest love in, for, and around us. In New York City, I continued my art education at the National Academy of Fine Arts. Doors have been flying open ever since...

Letting go happens for me when I paint, every time. I never know what my painting is going to be. I allow color to pull me in and find myself in a place that I always refer to as the "zone." It is a place of "beingness." I am here, and not really here. I see but not really with my physical eyes. Things happen on the canvas, and I go with the flow.

This is how my angels came into manifestation (see the "Angel of Manifestation" above), starting around Christmas of 2003. I did not have the intention to paint angels, but they came to me, one after the next. And they tell me their names, such as “Angel of Love,” “Angel of Peace,” “Angel of Manifestation,” “Angel of Golden Dreams,” and many more! Ever since 2003, they have been gifting me with their Beauty and Wisdom. I feel honored to bring them forth and, together with them, to serve in the process of opening the heart.

Bettina Madini is a featured artist in LFAC's "The Angel Show," running through January 3, 2010. To see more of her artwork, visit her websites: www.EarthAngelProductions.com and www.EarthAngelGallery.etsy.com.