Key Takeaways
Creating an essence board, at a glance
- An essence board is a collage of the colors, shapes, and textures that are already true of you.
- Begin with your Sacred Triad: the colors of your hair, skin, and eyes.
- Add the shapes of your features and images of your season’s natural light.
- Use the finished board as a compass for your wardrobe, your shopping, and even your home.
An essence board is a simple creative practice with a revealing result. You gather colors, shapes, textures, and images that echo your natural design, and you arrange them into one piece of art. When I ask workshop participants to make one, something remarkable happens. Without planning it, they create a portrait of themselves, because the shapes and colors they choose reflect who they really are.
So in this post, I will show you what belongs on your board, how to make it, and how to read what it tells you.
You Are Already a Work of Art
Many years ago, I heard a spiritual teacher say that each of us is a true artist. That day, I realized that I was an artist of color, form, and fashion. Helping clients learn their colors was my way of supporting them to paint their own portrait, every day.
That idea still guides my work today.
Your colors, Seasonal Essence, sacred geometry, and personal textures form a complete picture of you. In fact, they combine just as layers of paint and brushstrokes form a masterful portrait. Nothing about you needs to be fixed. Instead, this practice helps you see the masterwork that is already there.
What Goes on an Essence Board
Think of your board as a study of your own natural design. Then include the elements below.
Your Sacred Triad
Start with swatches, paint chips, or fabric that match your hair, skin, and eyes. After all, these colors are the foundation of your palette. They also connect you to everything else on the board, so place them at the center. A personal color analysis can identify these shades with precision if you want certainty.
Your expressive colors
Next, add your Romantic Red, your Power Color, and your Support Color if you know them. To find a Support Color, I often suggest a trip to a flower shop. Hold different blooms to your face in natural light until one feels like a perfect match.
Your shapes
When I look at my clients’ features, I see shapes: triangles, ovals, circles, teardrops, and diamonds. So study the shape of your face, eyes, brows, nose, and mouth. Then cut out images or draw lines that repeat those shapes. For example, almond eyes might become tapered leaves, while round eyes might become circles or scallops.
Your textures
Also look at your hair, skin, features, and animation. Smooth, still features call for silk and satin. Meanwhile, wavy hair and some movement suggest suede or lace. Many shades and lots of expression invite tweed, raw silk, or wood.
Let Your Season Set the Mood
Each Seasonal Essence carries its own inner light. Because of this, your board will feel different depending on your season. In my book, I created a vision board for each of the four seasons, and every one has its own atmosphere. Here is a starting point for yours.
| Season | Inner light and mood | Painters this essence often responds to |
|---|---|---|
| Spring | Sunlight: fresh, playful, colorful | Chagall, Warhol, Renoir |
| Summer | Twilight: flowing, romantic, the S-curve | Reynolds, Gainsborough, Wyeth |
| Autumn | Firelight: textured, complex, full of movement | Rembrandt, Da Vinci, Rodin |
| Winter | Moonlight: contrasting, angular, abstract | Velasquez, Dali, Escher, Matisse |
Mother Nature is your best guide here. A Spring board might hold sunny meadows, while a Winter board might hold moonscapes and marble. If you are curious how these energies show up in your personality, explore color season personality.
How to Make Your Board, Step by Step
Of course, you do not need artistic training. You only need natural light, a mirror, and curiosity.
- Gather magazines, fabric scraps, paint chips, flowers, and photos of nature.
- Stand by a window and hold each item next to your face.
- Then keep only the pieces that make your eyes and skin come alive.
- Arrange them on a board, with your Sacred Triad colors at the heart.
- Finally, step back and ask, “Does this feel like me?”
Trust your body as you work. Whenever you are in doubt, ask yourself whether an item enlivens you or drags you down. If it feels right, keep it. If not, release it.
Reading What Your Essence Board Reveals
Once your board is complete, notice the patterns. For example, do the shapes repeat? Is the overall feeling soft or dramatic, smooth or rugged? In other words, these patterns are clues to your style.
Then compare the board to your closet. You may discover pieces that match it beautifully. Meanwhile, you may also find a partner’s or parent’s colors hiding in your wardrobe. I see this often, and it is a gentle invitation to choose what is truly yours.
Your board can travel with you, too. Take a photo of it when you shop, so each new piece supports the whole. You can also use it for your home, because artwork, rugs, and pillows in your colors help you feel at ease. For a deeper look at the four seasons, visit my guide to seasonal color analysis.
What to Do Next
- Collect your Sacred Triad. Find three swatches that match your hair, skin, and eyes in natural light.
- Sketch your shapes. Trace the outline of your eyes, brows, and lips in a mirror.
- Choose one painter. Pick the artist from the table who moves you most and study the mood of the work.
- Make time for play. Set aside one quiet hour to build your board without judgment.
Your first step today: find one image from nature that feels exactly like you, and keep it where you will see it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is an essence board?
It is a collage of the colors, shapes, textures, and images that reflect your natural design. It works like a visual portrait of your essence.
Do I need to know my season before I start?
No, although it helps. In fact, many people discover their likely season while making the board, because the images they choose reveal their inner light.
How is this different from a vision board?
A vision board shows what you hope to become. By contrast, this board reveals what is already true about you.
