Deborah Koff-Chapin

The Art of Deborah Koff-Chapin ~
Originator of Touch Drawing, Artist, Vocalist, Author and Facilitator

I discovered Touch Drawing in a moment of creative exploration. On the last day at Cooper Union in 1974, I was in the print shop. Instead of wiping an inked plate with a paper towel, I moved my fingertips upon it. Lifting the paper, I saw marks on the underside created by the pressure of my touch. In a joyous opening, my hands danced upon one paper towel after another. I had a profound sense that this process had much greater potential than my own personal use. It felt like a gift to be shared with the world.

From that time on, I poured my soul into Touch Drawing. Over the years my work developed from simple primal marks to evocative transpersonal images. In 1995 and 2000, I published a selection of drawings as SoulCards 1&2. They continue to be used worldwide by a broad range of people including therapists, workshop leaders and creative writers. Portals of Presence: Faces Drawn from the Subtle Realms was released in 2021. In private sessions, I create Inner Portraits that bring into form many dimensions of an individual’s soul. I have also developed the art of Interpretive Touch Drawing at numerous events including the Parliament of the World’s Religions. See my curriculum vitae.In recent years my music has come to the fore with a weekly livestream Song Bath Sanctuary. See my curriculum vitae.

Deborah’s Art Galleries

Contact The Center for Touch Drawing about originals, including the possibility of arranging an Inner Portrait. If you are interested in ordering a print, write down the code number and click below.

Order Fine Art Prints

Interpretive Touch Drawing

Through the immediacy of Touch Drawing, I am able to visually portray the content and feeling-tone of a lecture, poetry reading, musical performance or sacred event. I love the collaborative nature of the experience. I have done this for over 800 different presenters at events such as the Parliament of the World’s Religions, Findhorn’s New Story Summit and much more.
Explore the extensive galleries.

Inner Portraits

An Inner Portrait is a series of Touch Drawings that bring into form subtle dimensions of your soul. I create 10-15 Touch Drawings during an intensive 3-hour one-on-one session, in person or online. This is some of the deepest work I do. The images below are selected from Inner Portraits that have the optional addition of color enhancement. Find out more

Song Bath Sanctuary

Deborah's Videos

8 Videos

Trusting the Impulse Within

14:19

Crafting a Touch Drawing on the Beach

2:49

Creation Dissolution

1:19

Drawing at the Parliament of the World's Religions

25:08

Deborah Koff-Chapin Art Kitchen Interview Part One

29:29

Deborah Koff-Chapin Art Kitchen Interview Part Two

35:44

The Fairy & Human Relations Congress

28:37

Shift Network Interview

40:57

Facets of Touch Drawing

I asked Touch Drawing Gatherers what their experience of Touch Drawing is. Each response was like a facet of a gem.

In Our Right Minds – A Conversation with Dale Allen & Deborah Koff-Chapin

Dale Allen has for 25 years shared the healing energy of the sacred feminine through her work: In Our Right Minds, which has been widely acclaimed at universities, conferences, corporations, theaters, and

Deborah Koff-Chapin and Markus Scott-Alexander Celebrate Touch Drawing

In celebration of the 50th anniversary of Touch Drawing, I am holding conversations to deepen my insight and develop fuller ways to articulate about the process. Markus G. Scott-Alexander is

Our Common Source – A Conversation Between Michael Samuels & Deborah Koff-Chapin

In celebration of the 50th anniversary of Touch Drawing, I am holding conversations to deepen my insight and develop fuller ways to articulate about the process. Michael Samuels, M.D. is the

About the Touch Drawing Gathering

These two zooms were held to share about the Touch Drawing Gathering. You can watch all or part of these videos. I edited out segments that were not generally relevant.

Endorsements of Deborah Koff-Chapin’s Artwork

Deborah Koff-Chapin is one of the world’s leaders in Transformative Arts." —Michael Grady, Dean, Graduate School Arts and Consciousness John F Kennedy University

Deborah's work is a dance of her whole being on paper: subtle, mythic, poetic, archetypal. She is an artist of High Being." —Jean Houston Ph.D Author, Search for the Beloved, Jump Time

The images are magnificent shimmers that evoke deep wonder. Though each painting was done intuitively, it radiates rootedness in reality. What a wonderful relief from New Age artists who cannot paint the mystical without leaving the earth behind." —Creation Spirituality Magazine

The artistry of Koff-Chapin moves the viewer's imagination into personal depths: each picture, a holograph of sung and unsung memories. I feel pulled to look at the pictures again and again. The world needs more of (her) touch." —Helen Lindquist Bonny Ph.D Author, Music and Your Mind

The drawings have captured a deep and mysterious element of both pain and uplift..." —Jon Kabat-Zinn Author, Wherever You Go, There You Are

The pictures are stunning." —Stanley Krippner Ph.D Professor, Saybrook Institute

Deborah Koff-Chapin's artwork is extraordinary, unique, and a particularly special manifestation of that deep pool of talent that dwells within each of us." —Tony Buzan Author, Use Both Sides of Your Brain

The subtlety and delicacy of her work is truly astounding." —June Singer Ph.D Author, Boundaries of the Soul and Androgyny

The work of Deborah Koff-Chapin releases us into the deepest meanings of life. The soul sees itself reflected in her mirrors, and is revealed to itself. It is art in the service of transformation." —Elizabeth Cogburn Director, Tree of Life Ceremonials

Deborah has displayed in symbol a remarkable ability to bring through the same message from Creator, passed down to us through White Buffalo Woman and all our masterful teachers: the reminder that we are in fact one with all in the Great Circle of Life." —Brooke Medicine Eagle, White Buffalo Woman Comes Singing