My canvases are the bodies of beautiful men and women. Using light, colour, the power of symbol and meticulous craftsmanship I glorify the human body. I create a landscape of magical symbols and colors to adorn and clothe the body, creating a magical garment, a cloak of many colors. Through direct visual language, archetype and myth I try to engage and open a provocative inner dialogue; a roadmap for exploring the inner landscape that lies deep within, beyond external perception.

My models offer up their bodies and their flesh to me with complete trust, allowing me to paint or tattoo my dreams and visions upon their naked skin. As I work, magical calligraphy starts to reveal itself like automatic writing. A soul tattoo painted in ephemeral colour unfolds after hours of painstaking work, covering the sitter’s nakedness with a rainbow hued cloak.

A powerful metamorphosis occurs as the body is slowly covered by a translucent spirit armor or cloak of protection, as in a fairy story. I become a shaman and I work as if in trance. After holding still, posing for long hours, as if a period of prolonged meditation, the models see their reflection. They have become transformed, and enter what seems another dimension. Empowered, they now move with an incredulous reverence and newborn freedom. A sacred space has been created and entered. There is a magic about this process, and it is felt by all who experience the completed work; the viewer and the viewed...

The power or energy of this magical tattoo is tangible, felt by both seer and seen, the painter and the painted. Awed by the beauty and majesty of the body in this moment, spirit shining through the translucent covering I have emblazoned on skin, I become deeply inspired. I enter the next stage of my image making process. This moment of awe is what I have worked towards creating: the gratification of my artistic process.

The joy of my subjects in their new skin is contagious. Liberated, having morphed from one dimension to another, my subjects open blossoming to my eyes and lens. I photograph to capture the magic, sometimes having already worked for 7 hours to the point of exhaustion. Both of us there, artist and model, pursuing the ecstasy of our vision; surfing the wave of ephemeral free flow expression .

This synthesis is now complete, captured in the synergy alive between us, caught and frozen by my lens in this, my shamanic journey: my spiritdance.

For more information on the art and work of Natasha Von, please visit

My heartfelt thanks to the marvelous models who have worked with me and trusted me to bring out their greatest beauty to the best of my abilities. My special thanks to Ramona Christopherson for her support and dedication to my work and shining love and inspiration. Also to Mr Dhe Light for the use of some of his luminous cloud images that he has kindly offered for usage and have become a part of the triptych, Sunset Goddess and glimpses and fragments in other backgrounds.