Paint From Your Becoming

Listening to what is forming. Your recognition sharpens.

There is something about painting a portrait that asks you to see yourself before you are ready.

You arrive with a canvas and oil paints and the intention to follow your inner voice. And then the portrait begins to take shape. A placement on the canvas. A color that arrives before you chose it. An expression forming that you didn't plan.

And the listening sharpens.

Not around what to add or what to release. Around what to recognize.

Portrait painting within this retreat is not about creating a likeness. It is about following what wants to be seen. Your soul doing the painting. Your essence finding its form. Every choice, where she sits on the canvas, what colors she wears, what her eyes and mouth are doing, what elements arrive around her, comes from listening rather than deciding.

This is what Paint From Your Becoming teaches.

Not how to paint a portrait. How to listen deeply enough to see who is forming in you right now.

Over two days beside the pond, you work at your own pace, creating your portrait with oil paints. Guided painting support is offered throughout, covering the face in blocks, the eyes, the mouth, the hair, and whatever elements want to arrive, so you always have enough to move forward. There is ample time for creative presence, quiet reflection, and being in nature without rush or pressure to perform.

The frustration that arises when something doesn't look right is not failure. It is a signal. Something true belongs there. The overworked areas, the marks that surprised you, the colors that arrived uninvited, these are not mistakes. They are the portrait finding its way to what is most real.

At the end of the retreat, you are invited to sit with what you have created and listen one final time. If she could speak using your voice, what would she say? What would she want you to know?

You leave with a portrait that speaks back to you. Not of who you were. Of who is becoming.

Who This Retreat Is For

This retreat is for any woman who wants to deepen her inner listening through recognition and creative presence. Who feels something forming in her that she hasn't yet been able to see clearly. Who is ready to trust what arrives on the canvas even when it surprises her.

No art experience needed. No previous retreat required. Just the willingness to look and listen.

What to Expect

Two consecutive non-residential days from 10 am to 3 pm outdoors beside the pond at the retreat space in Culpeper, Virginia.

Guided portrait painting support throughout both days using oil paints. Extended time in creative presence and nature. Gentle guidance without pressure or interpretation. All painting materials provided. A small stool, bench, and easel at your station.

This is a non-residential retreat. You return home or rest locally between days, allowing time to integrate what opened before you come back the next morning.

Each retreat holds a maximum of six women.

Not every woman will complete her portrait during the two days. Everyone moves at their own pace and the listening matters more than the finishing.

Dates Available

Paint From Your Becoming retreats are not yet scheduled for this season. If something in you feels called to this work, add your name below and I'll be in touch as dates form.

Tuition

$595 per retreat.

A payment plan is available. $300 at registration and $295 due 14 days before your retreat.

One scholarship seat is reserved for each retreat. If finances are a concern, please reach out. This space was made for you too.

Weather and Rescheduling

a concernIn the event of severe weather or unsafe conditions, the retreat will be rescheduled. You will be notified no later than 24 hours before your retreat date and offered two options. The following Thursday and Friday for those who have weekday availability. Or transfer to the next available retreat date if a weekday does not work for you.

If something in you feels ready, add your name below.