Expressive Portraits with StencilGirl® Stencils

Hi, everyone! Christa Forrest here! Want to explore creating expressive portraits but a bit fearful of drawing a face? Try using stencils!

I love using stencils and about 6 years ago I wanted to paint faces but wasn’t too great at it.   Plain and simple I was scared.   I found these amazing face stencils from StencilGirl® and decided to explore.   I was immediately hooked! I could experiment with mediums, mixed media and not get caught up in struggling to draw a half-way decent face. I learned along the way.

The stencil made it easier for me to understand the basic structure of the face.   The eyes, nose and mouth were where they needed to be. I could then open myself up to playing and practicing.  This eventually built up my creative confidence to start actually drawing a face. 

Do I still use a face stencil?

I have come a long way since the beginning.  The face stencils allowed me to feel comfortable with exploring faces in my work.  The more confidence I gained, the more comfortable I became.  Now it feels like second nature.  I still bring out the stencils every once in a while, to play and practice AND show others that they too can incorporate expressive portraits in their work with ease.

Here is a quick video of how I can utilize a face stencil to create a fun expressive portrait. 

Materials:

 

StencilGirl® stencils:

Talaya Goddess of Rain Large

Eve a Modern Woman Large

Abigail, A Timeless Woman Large 

 

Acrylic Paint:

Golden’s Quinacridone crimson

Golden’s nickel azo yellow

Titanium white

Black

 

Assorted brushes 

Spray bottle

Paper towel

Princeton catalyst scraper tool

Caran d’Ache Neocolor II crayons

Mixed media sketchbook 9x12 

Christa Forrest

Creative Souls Art

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