Essence Portraits at the YogAssisi Festival
Last weekend, I brought my Essence Portraits to a festival for the first time.
It wasn’t exactly a deliberate choice. I had applied to the YogAssisi Festival to lead a Mindful Watercolour workshop, but somehow found myself behind a stall in the bazaar instead. I thought, why not give it a try?
I know that the approach to watercolour I have been developing through my Mindful Watercolour project needs silence and calm, attention and presence in order to be fully appreciated. But I also thought, “Perhaps people who attend a yoga festival might be more open to this kind of experience!”
As it turned out, that wasn’t quite the case. Only a few people stopped by my stall to ask questions or simply chose one of my paintings to take home. But I did have the opportunity to meet three lovely women who asked for an Essence Portrait experience.
And so, for the first time, I created Essence Portraits experience in the middle of all the noise and bustle, and in a short amount of time (people visiting a festival don’t tend to linger at a stall for very long!).
What if your portrait were made of shapes and colours?
A small-format portrait for a short, intimate experience
I realised that the initial conversation, when someone tells me a little about themselves, is a precious moment. Essentially, they share what matters to them right now, the themes and questions that are present in their lives.
It is a delicate moment that needs to be protected, and perhaps the festival setting was a little too distracting for it.
I find myself increasingly drawn to taking notes that combine words and colours. Every word evokes colours for me, and they are not always the colours traditionally associated with that word. Yet, when I explore these associations with the person in front of me, I often discover that the colour that came to mind has a particular meaning for them, too.
Free-flowing notes
Words into colours
Colours into shapes
Then comes the moment when I paint.
At that point, there could be noise all around me, but I no longer hear it. I become so absorbed in what I am doing that I only look up when I have finished!
And finally, there is the moment of sharing the portrait.
I love watching the person look at their abstract portrait and recognise something of themselves in it. They see things about themselves that I don't know, things they haven't told me and couldn't possibly have told me.
And yet, through some mysterious interplay of suggestion or empathy, they discover something about themselves that might have been difficult to put into words.
That is the magical moment I love most!
Until now, I had only created Essence Portraits on commission, so I had completely missed out on this moment, as the finished portraits were sent by post.
But thanks to this festival experience, which came about almost by chance, I realised just how much I love creating Essence Portraits!
Alongside multi-day retreats, these are the experiences that nourish me the most, and they are the ones I want to continue developing and sharing.
And here is the third Essence Portrait I created at the festival.