Orly Faya: Painted Earth

The earth has a role in our lives from the moment we are born, and artist Orly Faya plays a very important role in awakening people to what she believes is our most foundational truth.

Earth is our mother, and while our spirit may come from elsewhere, our physical being comes from the earth, a connection we can’t live without. So, by opening ourselves to the earth, we offer the opportunity to live in a beautiful harmony of heaven and Earth.

A lifetime artist, philosopher and teacher, Orly’s passion has flowed into her life in a way that is truly unique to her, using her artistic talent to paint her subjects into their background. Giving them the opportunity to not only meet themselves in such a profound way but to be truly seen. Inspiring self-growth, transformation, deeper healing and change.

“They want to honour something bigger than their personality and their identity. To dissolve into the Earth and to tap into something greater than any description of self could ever master.”

Although Orly is now based in Sydney Australia, her work and travel has taken her all around the world, influencing her artistic style, beliefs and mission here on earth. Simply put, she loves to love all things beautiful and has allowed that to inspire the variety of her life’s work.

We hope you feel as inspired by her interview as we do.

Kim: In your own words, who is Orly Faya, and what is she about?

Orly: I was dubbed ‘The Little Philosopher’ at my primary school graduation and have continued to philosophize since. I am an explorer and adventurer in that I live in constant enquiry about what it means to be a human being and how to live in a way that serves the greater spirit of our collective consciousness. Today, I teach people how to access the infinite vortex of possibility so they can learn how to become powerful creators of their dreams and live a life of fulfilment. I support people in living life fully, compassionately and graciously, using breath as a guiding force. Together, we can awaken to our potential as humans on earth.

Eighteen years of solo world travel has given me deep empathy for the diversity of humanity and an appreciation of the various experiences that make up the tapestry of our world. My passion for all things beautiful has led to my work in the arts, from the digital realms to painting bodies. My love of nature has led to my environmental activism, in collaboration with World Wild Fund, Planet Ark, The Biosphere Foundation, Bob Brown Foundation and others. My commitment to integrity has taught me to honor my word and tap into the authenticity of the moment to find answers.

My happiest moments have been the simplest; living in a hut with only the basics, having less rather than more, being with people I love, surrounded by nature – this is home.

Journeying with plant medicine and Indigenous wisdoms has shown me what is truly important in life – and what is not.

I have flitted between green grasses, only to discover that the grass really is only greener from a distance. A big part of developing our spiritual muscle is to be at peace with where we are and with what is. No matter where we go, we find ourselves. Inner transformation leads to infinite freedom.

I do not fit into a category and I celebrate this by offering my unique perspective and wisdom to all who wish to break out of the stories that dictate what is possible in their lives.

Kim: Orly, let’s talk about your work painting people into their background because it’s fascinating.

Orly: It’s quite a story, but basically, I was in the entertainment – circus kind of area, and I was also painting faces. Then I saw a friend fully body painted and she looked incredible. I wrote a comment on the post and the woman who painted her was so encouraging and told me to give it a try, so I did. My journey with body painting started a year prior to painting people into the world. It wasn’t a mimicism, it wasn’t a camouflage and it was a huge success from the start. I then won a competition and I was just inundated with people who wanted to be painted. I’ve come from an artistry background and have painted since I was a little girl, so I’ve been in love with it from the get-go. I then went through a big breakup and on the week of the breakup, I was hired by an agency to paint a woman into a backdrop of Sea Turtles for a World Wildlife campaign. I had never done anything like that before, but I just jumped right in and discovered that I had what it took to merge people into the environment. So, that’s how I first discovered the skills to be able to do that, because it’s not actually something I ever learned. It was just something I did.

After that I was on the downhill from my breakup and as an artist, art is usually where things go when you feel like that. I started to paint everybody into everything. I was painting people into walls, chairs, backgrounds and all types of things. Then one day I was in Canberra at a festival and I saw the landscape was layered and so beautiful. I just had this vision of how incredible it would be to merge a human into the actual land itself. I distinctly remember thinking, “Wow it’s impossible, you couldn’t do it”, and I let the thought just go.

A few months later I left Australia and I took myself to Peru. I was on a big healing mission and I followed the calling to the medicine in the Amazon. I was divinely led to this one woman who was an 80-year-old Shaman who lived in Iquitos, that’s where I sat my first ceremony with Ayahuasca.

In short, it was a week of seeing people painted into the world. There were other things going on, but that was the continuous thread throughout every moment. Seeing people blended into the earth, painting people and painting the Earth itself. So I came out of those ceremonies fully charged with this mission to paint people into the Earth and that’s what I did.

I made a little post on a Facebook group saying that I’m doing an art series and I’m opening the space for whoever wants to get painted into the Earth and I was inundated with people that wanted that to happen. I painted around 21 people in a month. I’d basically go on this mysterious adventure with somebody onto a part of the land they resonated with. There was no one else there, just us so it was a very raw process and amazing things happened. Every day this incredible art piece would come to life and I would put it out into the world on Facebook.

Kim: Wow, that is incredible. Having sat with the medicine in Peru myself, I love that that was the vision Ayahuasca gave you in ceremony. That really hits me in the heart. Is there a commonality with the reasons behind why people come to you to be painted into the world?

Orly: They want to honour themselves. They want to honour something bigger than their personality and their identity. To dissolve into the Earth and to tap into something greater than any description of self could ever master.

I think that as time has gone on, the people that come to me are often people who want to celebrate a milestone in life. They either turn a certain age, have been through a trauma or something big in their life, they’re pregnant, or they’re a couple that have been together for 50 years. Or they’re a new couple that are about to get married. There’s also been people who have been very sick with cancer and want to leave something behind for their family. It’s been amazing.

It’s really coming down to landmark moments of life and honouring self-love. A huge part of it is honouring our physical bodies in all their imperfect majesty and just allowing ourselves to be seen.

One element of my work, is that I keep the rights to all of my pieces. Part of that, is that it’s very important for me to be able to show these pieces. Not just as an artist, but also because I truly believe that there’s something about being equal with the Earth that resonates in some primitive primal part of our brain. That knows that this is true, that knows a part of the Earth, and that when we see it visually, that there’s a resonance that is consciousness awakening. So, every time I do a piece, people sign off that they will be related for the world to see without a name or without a tag to show. It’s definitely part of the process to be seen and to disappear to be seen.

There’s a lot of contrast in the work and they’re in this like, epic state of stillness. It can be quite painful and challenging. It’s sort of really personal and I’m in a frenetic back and forth state of movement. So, there’s this alchemy between stillness and movement as well and that’s a very strong dynamic.

Kim: Just being in that stillness and needing to keep that pose would be therapeutic on some level, like when we step into a space of healing, such as a workshop or a therapy session. It could potentially have the same kind of impact, I think. I’d be curious to hear your clients’ feedback on how it’s changed them throughout the whole painting process.

Orly: It’s been amazing. As I’ve gone on, I’ve learnt how to step it up better and better so that people have some guidance about where to take themselves in those spaces when they’re feeling struggles, like connecting to the breath.

But allowing someone to melt into themselves and hear their minds and we talk as well, there’s that therapeutic element to that. It’s a really intimate space and I’m gravely aware of my responsibility as a fully dressed person in a space with a body who is undressed. There’s this vulnerability that’s very real. They’re not just a canvas, but a human being in my care, which I take really seriously. At the same time, it allows us to have their discomfort because it’s definitely a part of growth to be uncomfortable, so I just allow people to go through that space. The way people talk about it afterwards (and I have got that many testimonials), it was nothing like they thought it was going to be.

Kim: What other benefits does this process have for people?

Orly: Body image is a big part of it and I think that only tells a bit of the story. The way we relate to our body vehicles, is really important for our health. For our bodies to work in their best capacity, they also need to be seen, loved and appreciated. Just like we do, just like everything does. Like with any healing process I do feel that whatever somebody wants to get out of it they can and I’m not able to give them that, they have to receive it. We don’t heal each other, we heal ourselves.

So, I create a space in which somebody can step in with as much or as little of their spirit as they would like.

Kim: Is there a preparation process that your clients go through?

Orly: Absolutely. From the minute that they book the session and go into our first session together, it is really about starting from where we’re at and seeing what is going on in their life. What’s the main thing that they want to step into for themselves in their lives? What are they wanting to release and let go of? So when we do come to the day of production, we’re really clear about the intentions of why we’re doing it and what there is to receive and let go of.

It’s a ceremony, it’s a ritual.

So when we come together, we do a ceremony before and we bring through all of those intentions that we’ve talked about at length. We’ll do at least two to three sessions together before we paint because I just feel it’s really important to have our energies connecting before that moment, so that everything’s very safe and clear.

I work a lot from the studio these days, so the outdoor merges are still available, but they are different products. So, in studio emerging, it’s a lot more nurturing and nourishing. It’s a controlled environment so we can do any background at all, including any nature scapes, art, abstract backgrounds, colors, movement. I know people love the idea of being outside and it’s very romantic, but the reality of it is, it’s tough, challenging and it’s not ideal for everyone.

I recently painted my mom into Lake Louise in Alaska which was where she was last with my father on holiday before he died. She really was transported there because that’s where her memories were and that’s where that last joy of time was with him. Now she has this 1.2-meter artwork above her head of her landscape in that spot which is so precious. What that feels like for her is totally indescribable. So, what’s made possible with the studio is that we don’t need to actually depend on the sunlight or the rain or the light or the elements of high. People who are pregnant or unwell, get to have breaks. There’s no time pressure. It’s a much more secure space and way of doing it.

I think that, from that, a lot more therapeutic essence can come through. I really do feel like it’s more therapeutic, healthier, and there’s studio space.

Kim: I can really see the benefits from a healing perspective of being safe and held. It would certainly be a consideration for me. What message do you hope to convey to the world by painting people into the Earth?

people to the most foundational truth of our lives, which is that we came from the Earth, we are not put here by anyone, we literally fungused out of this planet. Where our spirits come from is a different story, but as a physical body and a being and a creature, we are part of the Earth. We can’t live without it, and we aren’t above or beyond this. We are completely connected. It’s our mother. It’s our source and there’s this beautiful harmony of heaven on Earth that we could be living in.

Right now, we’re in such a crucial time, and I would love people to trust nature and also understand that death is a part of this story. We’re part of everything, and I want spirit consciousness to reawaken.

Kim: Now, there’s only one of you, not everyone will be able to have their body painted into the Earth by you. What if someone wanted to feel or have that experience of being connected to the Earth through this form of art? How could they perhaps do that for themselves? Or is there something that you would advise them to do to build up that connectedness to Mother Earth?

Orly: That’s a great question. Definitely take time to be in the nature and really connect with the senses. To feel the grass under bare feet. To walk in the rain occasionally. To go in the ocean, when possible. Then to breathe from the belly and smell and notice what’s going on; the sound, the smells, the sensations. I think that’s what my work really does, it brings people into that. It’s a physical process painting somebody and sensation is a big part of it.

When you’re in a truly silent place with no sound, it’s so different and we have so much sound to notice. So between our breath and our senses, that is a great practice and the results are measurable in our life without a doubt.

Kim: Is there anything else that you feel is important for our readers to know about you or your work?

Orly: I’ve done this for almost 10 years now. This is my number one passion and it really is such a divine magical journey. I had no grand plan of doing something so niche and bizarre. But because I’ve now honed this craft so much, I would love more than anything for people to know how valuable this work is and to come and see me while I am still available.

A lot of my clients, they are coming back 6, 7 years later and I can’t even believe I’m still painting people. I would love to always be able to offer it, but I just don’t know. But now, I’m in my studio in Randwick, NSW and really excited for people to come when they can. I know it’s a really crazy, difficult time.

Kim: Last question, Orly, what is your Fierce Truth?

Orly: My fierce truths are that things are not what they seem. The universe is greater than we can imagine. Life on earth is the greatest miracle. Non-physical phenomena is foundational. Courage is the key and finally, truth is relative.