Not your typical vision board
Out with collage, in with paint!
Can you believe we are already in the third week of January?! It seems like just yesterday that I journaled my way to my word of the year and refined my core desired feelings, and yet here we are. More than mid-way through the first month of a brand new year.
Despite how fast time seems to be flying, I’ve been taking things quite slowly with my art practice. It’s been really busy on the work front, and I’m still easing into the year. I did, however, create my vision board, centered around my core desired feelings:
Which supports my word of the year — WHOLE. I’ve written more about how I found my word this year and what whole means to me on the blog — you can read that here.
But let’s come back to the vision board.
Because this really isn’t your typical vision board. There are no magazines, scissors or glue involved.
You don’t have to go hunting for inspiration or create Pinterest boards. All you need is some paint.
Let me show you.
If you look at the painting below, without the context I’m about to share, I’m fairly certain you won’t be able to figure out just how it relates to my core desires feelings, or how much meaning and magic it holds for me.
That’s what’s so cool about this artsy twist on typical vision boards. While you generally wouldn’t display a typical vision board in your living room, you can absolutely have a painting like this out in plain sight. Guests will think it’s just a cute painting, but you know it’s so much more than that!
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So, how do you paint your vision board?
Well, why don’t I take you through my process?
First, I have a short 5 minute behind-the-scenes video to show you some of the steps that went into painting this vision board. I’ve left it in real-time, so I hope you enjoy watching some of my process.
Once you’ve watched the video, I’ll tell you a bit about how I infused my vision into this painting.
I started with a really bright, colorful background. The bold oranges and pinks really spoke to my first core desired feeling — Lit up!
The next layer, which is where the video starts, denotes Peace. I brought in some white and yellow ochre to calm that bright, busy background down.
I chose a bold crimson for my third layer, which speaks to me of Confidence. Putting down that crimson felt like a really bold move, because I had no idea what would happen next!
As always, I did this painting intuitively, fused with a bit of intentionality.
I happened to find the beginnings of a face, and drew in this whimsical girl, who beautifully captures my word of the year, Whole.
There are a lot of other meanings for me in this painting — everything from the portal to the steps to the tilt of the girl’s head to the little scribbles and etching. But a lot of that also comes from my own visual language, which informs almost all of my paintings.
Want to create your own non-typical vision board? Here are 3 tips for you:
Choose your colors intentionally. What colors speak to you when you think of your vision? Let this be a very personal process. And don’t think too much about color combinations or harmony, especially if you work in acrylics. The layering process makes everything work out!
Work in layers. As you can see from my process, I used three distinct layers to work with my core desired feelings. And multiple layers after that to complete the painting!
Keep things abstract. If you’re not comfortable with intuitive painting, consider using symbols to create a more abstract piece. Not comfortable with abstracts? Try illustrating your vision, but keep it somewhat abstract. As an example, thinking about my core desired feelings and word of the year, I could have painted a light colored vase (peace and whole) with a bold motif (confidence) filled with flowers in a riot of colors (lit up!). See where I’m going with this?
I hope that these tips and peeling back a bit of my process gives you some ideas for painting your very own vision board.
If you do, won’t you share it with me? You can send me images of your vision board via email, share them on Substack notes and tag me there, or DM or tag me on Instagram.
Before you go, tell me this: Do you create vision boards or are you over them? Do you think you’ll give this painted vision board a try? Drop me a comment or reply to this email and let me know!
Like this post? Share it with your friends and invite them into our virtual studio. There’s space for all of us here! If you’re on the Substack app, consider restacking this post to Notes.
I've never done a vision board...painting one appeals to me. Maybe because the word that's been standing out to me is "create". I appreciate you sharing here.
Such a cool idea, I never bothered to cut out magazine pics. This is something I might actually try!