Bloom True!

Three days of spontaneous joyful painting with Flora Bowley

"There came a time when the risk to remain tight in the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom."

—Anais Nin

Let go. Be bold. Unfold.

In this playful heart-centered workshop we will explore a whole new way of painting from a space of freedom, non-judgment and experimentation. This process is about loosening up, letting go of expectations, having fun and allowing paintings to unfold naturally. There are no mistakes here!

We will start each day with simple yoga-inspired movement and breathing techniques, gently nudging us out of our heads and into our hearts. From this place, we will work quickly to cover our first two canvases with a layer of paint…no time for thinking here. As we continue to build up layers over the first two days, I will demonstrate many of my personal techniques such as dripping, stamping, expressive mark making, etching, patterning, drawing with paint and carving out imagery. I will share tips about color combining, layering with translucent paints, working with value contrast and finding your authentic voice. Set to the beats of a great playlist, we will flow between painting with wild abandon and making more conscious choices about composition, personal imagery and color palette.

This is a process-based workshop that will give you a toolbox of new techniques as well as a fresh philosophy to approach your work. On the third day, we will have the have the opportunity to integrate these lessons as we work rapidly and intuitively on a fresh new canvas.

Throughout the workshop, we will take periodic breaks to breathe deeply, stretch our bodies and re-connect with what is true for us in the moment. We will get messy, be bold and learn to trust in the unknown. Most importantly, we will focus on what IS working and let this inspire the rest of the painting. This is a very forgiving and playful process and no prior painting or yoga experience is necessary. All you need is an open mind. Trust. You are an artist already.

Supply List

Click here for a printable supply list.

Paint: Choose brands based on your budget (I prefer Golden brand, but they are the most expensive and not totally necessary for this workshop. However, if you are able to bring a couple of Golden’s fluid acrylics, this will be helpful. If you are bringing all Golden brand paint, bring a mix of heavy-bodied acrylics and fluid acrylics).

4 ounces minimum of each of the following:

2 different reds
2 different yellows
2 different blues
1 green
1 purple
1 orange
1 dark brown (van dyke brown is my favorite)
1 ocher
1 metallic (copper or gold)
1 black
3 other colors you really love
titanium white: 8 once minimum (Heavy-bodied white as opposed to fluid)
glazing medium: 8 ounces minimum

Canvases:
We’ll be using three 30"x30" canvases for our work, which I’m able to purchase in bulk for $10 each. I’ll have them available for you in class, so please be prepared to reimburse me $30. If you have your own, please email me privately and let me know.

Misc. Items:

• A variety of small brushes for detailed work—cheap ones are fine, just make sure you have at least one very pointed brush;
• 10 foam brushes (wooden handled with the grey foam square from the paint section at a hardware store): 5 one-inch brushes and 5 two-inch brushes (the stiffer, the better);
• A variety of mark-making tools such as old pencils, non-working pens, caps from bottles, bubble wrap, feathers, etc…No need to buy new things. Just look around your house and be creative!
• A few small items that are meaningful to you…again, look around your house or in nature;
• A few images that inspire you (can be from magazines, books or pictures you’ve taken);
• Spray bottle for water (the bigger the better and make sure it works before you come);
• A few rags;
• Apron and/or comfy paint clothes (this tends to be a pretty messy process);
• Latex gloves if you don’t want paint on your hands…your choice!
• Palette—the bigger the better (a large cookie sheet or a muffin tin from a thrift store will work great);
• Journal or paper to write on and a pen;
• Open heart and mind
• I can be reached at info@florasbowley.com.