THE COSMOS WITHIN

My art emerges from intuition and emotion. It is a contemplative practice, one that helps me navigate inner states and give form to the spectral images, dreamscapes and cosmic forces I sense but cannot always articulate.

I create circular forms with fluid materials, such as paint, ink, and dye, that move with a life of their own, requiring surrender, trust, and a responsive approach. I am curious about how the softness and tactility of stitched, bound, or woven textiles interact with liquid media, creating a dialogue between fluidity and structure, intuition and skill.

Planetary rhythms, mystery, and the unseen inspire me, and I hone my craft to express beauty, wonder, and reverence for natural forces. My pieces invite viewers into an emotional space of contemplation, where intimacy with the work serves as a mirror for feelings, subtle perceptions, and the inner landscape of the psyche.

Commissions and Pricing

SOUL PORTRAIT

I am pleased to offer a personalized, unique portrait of your soul, imagined from the energies and elements symbolized in your birth chart.

This portrait is hand-created with a watercolour mixed-media effect, mounted on a lightweight wooden 12" x 12" panel. It can be purchased for yourself or as a gift for someone else.

*I also paint in various sizes up to 30” x 30”, so larger Soul Portraits can be commissioned upon request. Please contact me directly to explore.

Order a Soul Portrait

on canvas

These circular works are created with fluid paints, dyes and inks. Older works are acrylic-based, while newer works are created with natural-pigment paints I hand-mix myself using traditional methods.

Debra Stapleton, untitled, 2025, Acrylic on canvas, 20 x 22 inches

Debra Stapleton, untitled, 2025, Acrylic ink on canvas, 17 x 18 1/2 inches

Debra Stapleton, untitled, 2025, Acrylic ink on canvas, 17 x 19 inches

Debra Stapleton, untitled, 2025, Acrylic ink on canvas, 17 x 18 inches

Debra Stapleton, untitled, 2025, Acrylic ink on canvas, 16 1/2 x 21 inches

Debra Stapleton, untitled, 2025, Acrylic ink on canvas, 14 x 14 inches

Debra Stapleton, untitled, 2025, Acrylic ink on canvas, 18 x 18 inches

Debra Stapleton, untitled, 2024, Watercolour on canvas, 16 x 20 inches

Debra Stapleton, untitled, 2024, Watercolour on canvas board, 8 x 10 inches

textile

Using a similar soft, time-worn, watercolour sensibility as my paintings, these works are created with hand-woven, dyed or paint-stained fabrics, often using cast-away fragments trimmed from my paintings.

devotional

These devotional works are a series I created during a summer art residency in 2025. Titled “The Cosmos Within,” these pieces are meditative, energetic portraits of the seven traditional planetary gods.

on paper

My astrology-inspired art practice found new life originally as watercolours on paper. These smaller works remain a part of my personal art journaling and preparation for larger canvases.

Debra Stapleton, untitled, 2023, Watercolour on paper, 10 x 10 inches

Debra Stapleton, untitled, 2023, Watercolour on paper, 10 x 12 inches

older works

During my years in Art School from 1991-95, I began exploring planetary portraiture, merging my love of abstract work with astrology. I no longer have these pieces; this is simply an archive.