Coeur de Fleur – Part 2

If you want your life to be bright and vibrant, you can’t just pile up colours on top of the darkness. They’ll just end up muddy. First must come the light.

That’s what this painting “Coeur de Fleur” reminded me after I brought it back to life from its “ruined” state 2 weeks ago (see previous post).

As I learned during my time at the Vienna Academy of Visionary Art, the Old Masters used a layering painting technique in which they added shades of white egg tempera in between layers of coloured oil glazes. This kept their colours luminous and affected how the light refracted through the many subsequent layers.

Basically, the Old Masters knew to add light before colour.

I’ve been using a variation of that technique with professional acrylic paints for the past 7 years.

I wish I’d photographed the full painting after I “ruined” it, but the first picture above gives you an idea. The whites are definitely not white anymore. The varnish had reactivated a new black product I wasn’t used to, which bled all over the painting.

When I contacted my paint & varnish company, Golden Paints, they told me I could add a clear polymer isolation coat over the varnish and then paint again. They couldn’t guarantee that it would last for generations to come, but it would be fine past my lifetime. (So, if you like this painting and would like to buy it, just know it may not become a family heirloom for far future generations….)

Great! My heart garden wasn’t a lost cause. It was still a work in progress.

I reflected on the symbolism of my studio experience as I painted white back into the bouquet of my heart, adding light back to the painting, before adding colour where called for.

If you’re in a dark space and you revert to behaviours or habits that temporarily seem to add colour to your life (drinking, addictive shopping, whatever your drug of choice), you won’t come out with the happiness you seek. Often, those choices just add to the problem, to the darkness. Your life will continue to feel muddy.

First you need to add the Light. Open to love. Connect with your Higher Self and whatever Higher Power you believe in. 

From that space, if you choose to watch a couple of movies and eat a bag of chips (yes, my drugs of choice), they end up becoming a treat, a splash of colour in your day.

Having said that, I’m very proud of myself that I succeeded in my goal to only watch 1 movie a week in January. My treat at the end of the month? I watched the whole 5th season of Outlander in a weekend. Fun! Now back to 1 movie a week in February.

So take a moment to connect to your Light and to make your decisions from that space.

What can you weed from your garden to add luminescence to your life? How can you make space for your Light to shine brighter?

That’s my bit of studio philosophy for the week….

May your heart continue to blossom in the Light of Love. May your days be bright and vibrant as you continue to tend to your heart callings, one blessed layer at a time.

Big hug!

“Coeur de Fleur”
(9″ x 12″) -SOLD
Acrylics on gallery-wrapped canvas (no framing required)