Peter Teekamp as the Reincarnation of Artist Paul Gauguin

Peter Teekamp is a self-taught artist and for 30 years has enjoyed painting visions, symbols and ideas that translate feelings about the wonders and mysteries of life. When he paints people he does not paint them as you and I see them in their daily life but in what he sees as their "spiritual essence."

In assessing the art of the artist, Peter Teekamp, it's important to describe some of the early experiences that helped to create his views on art, life, afterlife, and religion.

It is well documented that in the majority of cases where people have had near-death experiences their entire life takes on dramatic changes. Their philosophies regarding religion, God and the purpose of life can be seen by many as in total contrast to their beliefs prior to their experience. This is the case when near-death experiences happen closer to adulthood and their beliefs can be compared and analyzed. However, as in the case of artist Peter Teekamp, his experience was as an infant before any such belief system was in place or could be studied. As an adult, Peter does not classify himself into any one theology but respects all world religions.

What follows is now is an artist's conception of another side of life. Perhaps an artist's inspiration to paint the childhood memory of an eyewitness account of heaven, spirits and angels. We hope you enjoy the view!

Teekamp believes Gauguin was misunderstood and remained an enigma throughout his life and even in death. Gauguin continues to be a mystery as books with various views on his art continue to be published. There are more than 160 titles written about him, but his philosophies and art are being interpreted and presented by Teekamp in a way never before considered.

A lifetime of recurring themes of coincidence connecting him to Gauguin, from the simple occurrence of a book falling open to pages about the artist (not just once, but too many times to write off as mere coincidence), to strangers walking up to him and announcing his connection to Gauguin, there was one final event that caused Teekamp to study the French artist in a way no one ever had. The serious study began years into Teekamp's own art career when he was actually accused of being the spirit of Paul Gauguin reincarnated. This was a claim he was not sure he wished to believe but even more difficult for him to ignore.

For numerous reasons this caused Teekamp great distress. At that time the little knowledge he had of Gauguin was not necessarily positive. In fact, Gauguin was regarded with contempt by some for leaving his wife and family behind in search of his artists' paradise of primitive man and unspoiled nature. (This is certainly not the only version. It is said that Mette Gauguin fully supported her husband and understood his need to explore a different environment to fulfill his creative passions. It was Gauguin's hope to be successful and it was Mrs. Gauguin's hope and intention to promote and sell the works he sent home.)

Now, with a bombardment of coincidence, Teekamp was no longer able to pass off this mystery as simple irony. He had to find out what the connections and parallels to Gauguin were telling him. He knew there was something there that needed further study. He began to look closer at Gauguin's life and art and found some amazing parallels and a startling discovery. The discovery refers to a hidden secret within the artworks of Paul Gauguin that has not been exposed in more than 100 years - a secret clearly revealed to Peter Teekamp and found in his own artworks years before the parallels were ever researched. This is just one of the pieces to a puzzle, more events concerning the clues that led to Peter's discovery fall into place years after this information was assembled.

Gauguin claimed an understanding of his past lives and believed in reincarnation. Teekamp's near-fatal birth and first-life memory of a near-death drowning are facts that he suggests made him keenly aware at an early age that we are Spirits first. Teekamp's belief in reincarnation also caused him to study and delve into past life regression therapy. This research brought even more information to the surface about Gauguin, a man that some called the "Father of Modern Art."

In 1997, after keeping the information private for nearly twenty years, Teekamp decided he should share what he called the "good news" about Paul Gauguin. He and his partner, co-author Michelle Moshay, prepared the first manuscript in January of 1998. That month, coincidentally again, a luxury cruise liner was launched and christened the M/S Paul Gauguin and set sail to Gauguin's beloved Tahiti and the South Seas where the artist lived and died. The final chapter of "Pass It On" was to be a return to Tahiti and the sudden emergence of Gauguin's namesake ship seemed meant-to-be for Teekamp's announcement. The pair began working on a lecture and slide presentation outlining the hidden secrets and philosophies within Gauguin's art, wanting to share it aboard the M/S Paul Gauguin, meanwhile seeking a publisher for the manuscript.

From the South Seas, Paul Gaguin once wrote, "For the majority, I shall always remain an enigma, I realize people will understand me less and less ... No matter what happens, I assure you that I shall achieve things of the first order. I can feel it and we shall see."

The information and samples of Gauguin's work, the list of parallels and coincidences within "Pass It On, Art HIStory" give a new recognition to what Teekamp and Moshay feel was a misunderstood artist with a secret message. The message is one of hope, enlightenment and inspiration for every living soul to study the clues around them and discover their own true destiny. It's information that will rewrite the history books concerning the art and life of Paul Gauguin and finally, 100 years later, give him the recognition and fame he strongly believed would be his.

The following is the news article that appeared in a Bremerton, Washington, newspaper concerning Peter Teekamp's discovery of a sketch which may possibly be an authentic Gauguin.