Painting_Embrace

Letting myself rest in the embrace of this painting. A deep inhale and exhale emerge. A piece to Be with.

Frequency Friend!

Still feeling the embrace of the recent nidrā, I wanted to share a painting that evoked in me a similar feeling during its creation and continues to do so in its completed state. It is a small but expressive 30x30cm that holds space for me to be, in all my lights and darks, my knotted-ness and clarity. It guides me to a depth within me where a deep in-and exhale emerges from.

Embrace, 30x30cm, Oils on poplar, Kerkyra Series

What comes up for you when looking at Embrace?

This painting is part of the Kerkyra series (more at the end), like the previous painting Flow. It started as one of the underdogs in the series, not having a too clear message up front.

1st layer of Embrace

I had gesso-ed (white) a poplar wood panel. I started with a very quick and unintentional underpainting of iron oxide 140 with a mix of Venetian red self-mixed oil paint (walnut as base), diluted with some eco-solve. I worked quickly with a wedge to apply the first marks, leaving some parts gesso-white. Once this layer was dry, I remained with a limited palette of white, black, venetian red and the darker iron oxide 140 to respond to the embrace-character that emerged during the process. I used filbert brushes, wet-in-wet for this part. As the last layer, I applied fine dry-brush strokes, adding contrast to highlight the already existing peaks of previous layers. This served me as a reminder of how important contrast is to bring the character of a painting to life, regardless how fine the lines are, as in this case.

The Kerkyra series was born from being in touch with the Ionian island Kerkyra (Corfu), where I spent some time in June 2025. Clarity, sovereignty, expansion, feminine are how I felt this space. The series expresses what I have perceived of the land, sea and people. My gratitude to their presences.

I am also sharing my excitement (see photo in note) to be back to painting on proper canvas and panels while being back in my dad’s shop aka my interim studio! New paintings to share in the future, yay!

For now, how does Embrace move you? Do you have any questions or ideas regarding the painting process or technique?

Most of my paintings are for sale. If you are interested in purchasing my artwork or in working on a commission together, please contact me by hitting reply to this email or in a substack-message for more details. Or head over to https://www.vanessaenglert.de/en/art-more.