ABOUT

Torrey James Lystra has lived the life of a renaissance man. He has been an accomplished painter and draftsman for five decades. He graduated with honors from the University of California Santa Barbara in the above areas and worked on a Masters at San Diego State University before leaving to become a ranger/naturalist and supervising park ranger in the back country of San Diego, California. 

While raising his three sons along with his wife he was soon to be adopted by renowned Shaman Wallace Black Elk into the magical sacred ways of his grandfather's healing work.  Torrey carried on that practice for 28 years which he described in his four best selling books. He received a Nautalus Award for excellence in nonfiction writing for 'An Angel + a Shaman'. Many of these original paintings hang in private collections.

His  studio can be found in Gig Harbor, Washington near the flowing waters of the Puget Sound within a circle of Cedar, Douglas Fir, Pine, Alder and Maple in the clean air and sacred peace overlooking Vashon Island.