Layered Movement
New marks, real depth — in acrylic.
What you’ll take into your practice
- How to start a painting without a sketch or a plan — from a single grounding color outward
- How to mix color into harmonious “journeys,” and when to break them with a pop of pigment
- How to build layers you can see through, so the story underneath stays present
- How to expand your mark-making — layering acrylic and oil pastel for line, texture and movement
- How to move through the “ugly phase” — and why your mistakes are necessary
- How to paint the figure from feeling and memory, not from life or reference
- How to find inspiration outside your own art form and translate it into your work
- How to set up an affordable, rental-friendly studio with hardware-store materials
- How to know when a painting is finished
Who it’s for
- Acrylic painters who want to loosen up, build in layers and open up their practice
- Anyone who wants to try new marks and textures without buying expensive materials
- Painters who freeze without a plan or a reference to work from
- Artists whose paintings stall in the “ugly phase” and get abandoned
- Painters drawn to gestural, figurative, layered work
Inside the course
Step into Sarana’s studio and follow one painting from a single grounding mark to a finished, resolved piece. You’ll watch her mix color in real time, build layers you can see through, move through the “ugly phase” without starting over, and shape figures from memory and feeling rather than reference. You’ll also see exactly which materials she uses — most of them inexpensive, from the hardware store or a local art shop — so you can follow along without a big investment. It’s less a set of techniques than a way of working: intuitive, forgiving, and entirely her own.
Sarana Haeata
Sarana Haeata
Sarana Haeata is a Māori-Australian artist based in Margaret River, Western Australia. She came to painting through years of ceramics, and it shaped everything: a way of working that listens to the material and lets go of control.
Her gestural, figurative work sits between representation and abstraction — women falling and floating, painted from memory and feeling rather than reference — and carries a deep belief in storytelling, accessibility and belonging. Her paintings are held in private collections across Australia, the US, Denmark, France and the UK.
Find Your Thread grew out of a two-week studio residency where Sarana went looking for her own thread. It’s the first time she’s teaching her full process, from the first mark to the last.
Included with your course
- Two bonus modules to go deeper into Sarana’s practice
- Ask Sarana questions directly in the comments
- Downloadable materials list
- Private student community
Before you begin
Yes — it’s built for acrylic painters who want to loosen up, layer intuitively and expand their mark-making. You’ll work in acrylic and oil pastel throughout.
Acrylics, cheap student oil pastels, a few flat brushes, unstretched pre-gessoed canvas and spray sealant — most of it from the hardware store or a local art shop. A full list is included and provided at course sign up.
Pre-recorded and fully self-paced.
No — the canvas-prep bonus shows an affordable, rental-friendly wall setup.
Lifetime — the course is yours to revisit whenever you like.
If you give it a try and feel it’s not right for you, contact us within 14 days of purchase and we’ll take care of you. Enroll with confidence.