“I TRUST MYSELF TO NAVIGATE IN ACCORDANCE WITH MY HEART”
“This magnificent refuge is inside you. Enter. Shatter the darkness that shrouds the doorway….Be bold. Be humble. Put away the incense and forget the incantations they taught you. Ask no permission from the authorities. Close your eyes and follow your breath to the still place that leads to the invisible path that leads you home.” ~ St. Teresa of Avila
WELCOME to the Art of Allowing!
Begin with the audio below, and be sure to listen all the way through as it contains your instructions for this week.
© Flora Aube
COLOR WASH SLIDESHOW:
Here are examples of how using just 2 or 3 colors can create such different “moods” and beauty. Keep your canvas damp by spritzing with a water bottle so the paint stays fluid. Ratio: 2/3 paint to 1/3 water.
Intermediate Painters: Feel free to experiment, and develop complex washes with color and marks.
© Copyright Flora Aube
COLOR WASH DEMO:
Begin by blessing your canvas with your hands. Lightly write the words, “Sink IN” on your canvas and repeat them to yourself throughout the wash. Regard the canvas as a portal where you will enter Her, and She will enter you.
This is where the sacred conversation will occur. Sink IN to the color, merge, lose your self, slow your pace, and become Present to each moment. She will begin to guide your moves. Trust your impulses.
Play for at least an hour, and then let your canvas dry completely. If you see a feminine form is starting to emerge, draw her out by outlining her features. If not, move to a sketch pad and practice a loose drawing, and then bring your sketch to the canvas. If you need a template to follow, you may use the one here…but give yourself a chance to allow Her to speak through you in your own way. If you are concerned about skin contact with the paint, you can wear gloves.
© Flora Aube
REFERENCE SKETCH if needed. Feel free to click on the image and print it out.
Beginners: Use simple, flowing lines
Intermediate Painters: Challenge yourself to do a 3/4 view
PAINTING LESSON: SKETCH & BLOCK
© Copyright Flora Aube
Transcript for Sketch and Block
I am following the feel of the flowing line and feeling that movement in my body as I trace. Just the simplest lines are needed at this point. We can add hair later.
Blocking: Next we are laying her skin foundation, like a “make-up” base It doesn’t matter what color you use, but if I’m painting light skin, I often use White and Ochre as a medium tone to build on. (When I paint dark skin, I start with a base of Burnt Sienna) Use the flat part of the brush to fill in versus the tip. Use your fingers to move and blend, again using the length of the finger instead of the tip.
If the paint starts drying too fast, mix it with a little glazing medium. I prefer to use a big brush for this, and as I stroke, I am following the curves of her face If the paint gets too thin, and is drying fast, keep enough wet paint on your brush so it moves for you.
Knowing how much paint to keep on your brush is part of the learning process and you’ll learn the more you do it. Don’t forget to integrate the skin coverage in the neck and chest Get your coverage fairly even all around, but don’t worry about getting it perfect- you have more layers to go. When you come to refinement around the smaller areas of the eyes and mouth, use a smaller brush If you find you need to adjust the features, go ahead.
Acrylics are highly forgiving and you can make changes all along the way Remember, THE ONLY “RULE” is that the center dip of the nose must line up with the center of the top lip and then the point of the chin if you were to draw a vertical line in the center of the face.