A few weeks ago, I did a blog post on how I wanted to create a Sleeping Beauty Lenormand. Since then, I've made some progress! I stasrted sketching some of the cards, first in my sketch book, then on actual canvas! The canvases I use to paint the cards are 13x18 cm (5,1 x 7 inches) and very thin. I chose this format because you can buy these in stacks of ten, making material costs a lot cheaper than if I used normal canvases.
Step one: after sketching in coal, the background and face are colored in acryllic.
For this project, I decided to go with acryllic paint, which is very versatile and lends itself beautifully when layering colors.
The first few layers of skin tone still let the original sketch show: I used contouring style to give the skin more dimension.
My sketch on canvas was pretty rough and thick, so I had to do many layers of skintone to get the face right. Here, you can see how I layered skin tone with white highlights.
The background, so that it resembles the movie's bed and curtain, is done in blues, turquoises and greens. I am very satisfied with the misty effect.
I opted for a neutral background which all the other cards will share as well in order to limit the details in each card to a minimum. In Lenormand, being able to grasp a Grand Tableau at first glance is the most important thing to keep in mind when designing a deck (in my opinion, anyway). That's why neutral backgrounds and clear, easy to identify pictures are a must.
Layers of skintone: this is a rough but important step (for me at least), to get more or less realistic skintone on canvas. I added shadows and lines to the highlights and painted the lips darker.
At this point, the card is starting to take shape: my painted pictures often look quite different from the initial sketch, as color and depth adds a lot to any design. But this clarity and peace of mind which the face is portraying surprised me as it formed on the artwork in front of me. As you can see, I did the background first, then the skin, and now the hair. The hair might become blond at some point, but I'm tempted to leave it like this. The contrast is very nice.
Nearly done: The face is made softer, the hair layered again, the crown and choker have a first coat. Only the rose remains.
While a painting takes shape, the ideas and visions often change from the moment the sketch was made. I painted the Princess without color guidance, only the sketch was done while looking at sleeping Aurora. This is what this turned out to be: quite a unique version of the princess asleep. The hair needs some work done, as do the crown and choker. But the skin and background are done. Finally, I have been thinking about replacing the rather tepid rose by a nicer flower, which suits the color scheme more. Perhaps a pink spotted orchid?
What do you think about the first card in my lenormand deck?
Blessings and balance ~
Peachess
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