Dear Wonderful, Creative You:

Over the last six years, presenting roughly 40 different patterns and botanical drawings each year has taught me a lot about how to draw from nature. What initially sparked my interest most about nature’s patterns is the way that they recur throughout nature. Patterns like branching, spirals, spots, bubbles and clusters can be seen at every level of nature and at every scale, from the cellular to the interstellar. This kind of organization at a grand scale has always fascinated me. I love the intersection of art, nature, and science.

Over time, though, I wanted to also practice drawing more complex things with you, like flowers, leaves, fronds, and seed pods, the makeup of the botanical world. I’ve always said that the criteria for a slow drawing is that it has to be simple enough that anyone could draw it, but interesting enough that you’d want to draw it many times, many ways. That meant that I had to find ways to break complex things like flowers and seed pods into simple shapes and letters so that the drawings felt approachable for everybody, not just the more experienced artists. This has ended up being a boon for our community as you have learned to draw more and more complex drawings.

It has also been excellent for me as a teacher. Learning to break things into shapes has helped me draw in a simpler way as well. I still love to use semi-blind contour for capturing tons of beautiful details, but now I have two different methods I can use as I draw things in my journal. And I’ve found it’s wonderful to teach both of these to students so that you have both sets of tools as well.

This quarter in my membership The Gathering, we’ve been focused on the topic of Finding Your Voice as an Artist. We began with using a pattern creation game to explore creating unique patterns. Next, we moved into looking at the botanical world and learning to create unique, slow drawing botanicals with my simple shapes method. Now, in July, for the last month of the quarter, we’re taking a look at how to draw flowers, using fine lines to convey the contours of petals even as they fold and turn. I’m tickled at how many of you report back that you are drawing things you never thought you could.

So I thought it would be fun to give you a simplified version of a fine line flower tutorial to get your creative engine started. If this process speaks to you, we’d love to have you join us in the Gather tier for the full workshop on July 15th, whether live or recorded.

Let’s draw some beautiful flowers:

Let’s talk about process:

Where are you in your drawing journey? Do you find yourself surprised by what you can do, or still frustrated about all you still have to learn? Tell us about it in the comments.

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Dear Wonderful, Creative You:

This quarter in The Gathering, we are focused on developing your voice as an artist. So many of my students tell me that they love the slow drawing and botanicals we create, but they struggle to make their own patterns and drawings. They want to make work that is uniquely their own, to express and translate the beauty they see. We have created a cohort so that students can support and help each other to create an idea generation system that works for them. After teaching this month’s Simple Patterns workshop, I wanted to offer some key mindset tips to play like a child and develop ideas like a scientist, as well as another concrete example of pattern iteration to play with this month. I thought it would be fun to share all of this with you too.

You can get the Your Artistic Voice PDF I mention in the video here, it’s free!

I would love to hear what variations you are going to make to the ovals series I’ve shown you here. Use the PDF to give you even more creative insights and let us know your creative plans in the comments below.

Happy creating!

Amy

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Dear Wonderful, Creative You:

I’m excited to offer you this guided watercolor meditation for beginners. I think you are going to love it, and I can’t wait to see what you create!

Meditating Through Art

Have you ever slowed down enough while you are creating to notice the feel of the paper in your hands, or to notice the rhythmic sound of your breathing? Mindfulness is all about tuning into the moment without judgment – just a practice of noticing what is – with curiosity.

Join Our Free Weekly Slow Drawing Workshops!

Curiosity is a super power. When we are curious we have to engage parts of our brain that don’t operate well if we are flooded with emotion. The more I practice going slow and being curious while I make art, the more natural it is, and the more I find myself tuning into the moment at other times too – noticing the way the bubbles of air form under a frying egg, or the teensy triangles of skin folds on my hands. There are opportunities to slow down and get curious in every moment. We don’t need to be mindful all the time – but having an art meditation practice to turn to can help us feel more creative and more grounded.

Comment

I would love to hear in the comments about the difference you experience meditating with eyes open and eyes closed. What was that like for you? What do you find easy or hard about each approach?

Creatively Yours,

Amy

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Dear Wonderful, Creative You:

One of the things I’m most passionate about as an artist and teacher is showing people that they do have time to create. Today I’ve got 7 tricks to make time for art in this short 3-minute video:

https://youtu.be/rMKtySF7biA?si=7ZGmbiLRMazkXCFB

What do you think? Which trick did you like the most? What other ideas can you share for making time for art?

Speaking of tricks that help you make more art… I told you I’m passionate about helping you to make more art, and for several years, I have been running a small art challenge. Some time ago I realized that if I made art on really small pieces of paper, it took many of the barriers out of my way. The challenge is straightforward: create a simple, tiny art piece on a 2 x 2 inch square every day for 12 days. It’s called The Inchie Challenge, February 3- 14 2025, and it’s how you are going to break through those creative barriers and prove to yourself that you can make a little art every day.

Join the Inchie Challenge, FREE and start creating NOW!

As soon as you sign up, you will get my free prep-class: A Little Art Everyday. This little class is so much fun and will give you the skills and tools you need to create tiny art every day for 12 days February 3 – 14 2025, and successfully complete the challenge. Imagine how good it will feel to look at that grid of 12 squares looking back at you! That’s your art!

Each day of the challenge, February 3rd – 14th 2025, you’ll get an email with a word prompt and photo inspiration. And when you do your prep class now, you’ll be absolutely ready to start creating by February 3rd 2025!

Share Your Experience in the Comments

Have you made small art before? What tricks do you use to make more art? I’d love to hear about it in the comments!

Creatively Yours,

Amy

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Dear Wonderful, Creative You:

Let’s dig right into this fun and easy flower drawing on a full-spread art journal page! I think you’ll be amazed at what you can do when you relax, take your time, and enjoy these simple steps.

Wasn’t that fun? If you would love to draw and paint botanicals, you will love my class, Drawing Closer to Nature. As a thank you for learning with me today, I have a special coupon to save you 15% off: DRAWINGMEIN15.

My Art Supplies

As I always say to students in my membership, The Gathering, there is no magic in the particular tools I’m using, other than their quality. If you use quality paper, paints and waterproof ink, you’ll get much better results and have a lot more fun, which means you’ll make more art. See how this is a positive feedback loop? When you are just starting though, just use whatever you have at hand, and if you find you enjoy it, invest in just one brush, a small pad of paper and one or two paint colors you love to start. I used the following tools:

Arches 140 lb. watercolor paper which I sewed into a coptic bound journal

Utrecht #10 round watercolor brush

Lamy Safari fountain pen with DeAtramentis Black waterproof document ink

Quinacridone Burnt Orange watercolor paint, Daniel Smith

Madder Rose watercolor paint, Daniel Smith

Share About Your Easy Flower Art Journal Page

What changes did you make to the way I did the flower drawing page? Did you choose different colors? Or arrange them closer or further apart, or change the number of flowers on the page? Share your innovations in the comments so we can inspire each other!

Creatively Yours,

Amy

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Dear Wonderful, Creative You:

I’ve got a wonderful video tutorial for you today. It’s one of my favorite techniques for making an art journal page interactive – a tracing paper envelope. I love the delicate, almost vulnerable feeling of tracing paper – it reminds me to be gentle with my art, which reminds me to be gentle with myself. I’ve been talking with the community in my membership about various ways to take care of ourselves creatively. These tracing paper envelopes can be a wonderful addition to your art journal pages. Imagine how they might hold a letter to your inner artist, a poem that lights you up, or a favorite small drawing.

Have You Made an Interactive Art Journal?

Have you ever used envelopes, flaps, or pop-ups in your art journal? It’s one of my most favorite ways to play with my drawings and paintings.

Here’s a little peek at the book I made while I was teaching Slow Art in France last month.

I love the little flower pop ups and the arms on this page. It’s fun to feel like I can surprise the viewer.

What a joy it is for me to share this technique with you. If you are brimming with excitement, but aren’t sure how to begin take this further in your art journal, I’d love to show you how to make your own pop-up book.

You can join me for my on demand class: Pop-Up Book: Little Book of Wonder – and see all the wonders you can create in your art journal.

Tell Us About Your Art in the Comments

Do you enjoy using interactive elements in your journal? How did it go for you with the tracing paper envelope? What’s inside yours? I can’t wait to hear all about it.

Creatively Yours,

Amy

P.S. If you would love to have both the Accordion Fold Journal Class and Pop-Up Book at a discount, we now have a bundle! Get the Accordion Pop-Up Journal Bundle here!

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Dear Wonderful, Creative You:

The Inchie Challenge has past, buuuuut, I still want to help you play with tiny 2 x 2 squares – that I loosely call “inchies.” It’s totally free and so much fun. You can sign up for my free weekly slow drawing workshops. We create on small pieces of watercolor paper that fit in your hand with nature inspired drawings that are simple enough that anyone can draw them.

Join me each week for our FREE Slow Drawing Workshops:

I can show you how to fuel your art practice with small art. It gives me so much permission to play, experiment, and try out new things without feeling the pressure of time – something we talk about a lot in my membership, The Gathering. Small things also just feel so easy to manipulate and mix and match. I’ve been playing this way since about 2017, and I still find it fascinating. I know you can fuel your creativity with small art too!

To get you inspired to create with inchies , I wanted to share some of the ways I most enjoy using my 2 x 2 inch squares. Sometimes I start with plain paper inchies, and draw patterns on them, like my Rice pattern:

If you want to learn even more, I show how I build these larger pieces in my class BIG ART. Isn’t it fun to see how a simple pattern can arrange itself in different ways and start to build? These are the pieces that eventually led to the 99 square piece that you see in the top photo of the post. It was a lot of work – but slowly and playfully over time. I didn’t set out to make a big piece. I just set out to play, and I did! You can see how I fuel creativity with small art.

Another way you can play with our inchies is to use paints to create wild patterns, and then use pens to elaborate on these patterns.

It’s also fun to start big and then go small – like with this sheet of abstract leaves in watercolor. I liked it, but it’s not a standalone piece, so I cut them into smaller pieces and used those as a starting point for inchie art.

Once the pieces are free from the page, you can create a grid with a select few that speak to you in this new arrangement. This is one of the ways we build BIG ART from inchies.

Sometimes this new arrangement is really interesting all on its own. Or, you might decide that you’d like to add drawing, painting, writing, or collage to your pieces:

This process is all about fueling your creative engine – creating an incredibly open, permissive environment where you are free to explore and play, but with the constraint of size that allows you to work quickly and innovate with small art.

Join me each week for our FREE Slow Drawing Workshops:

BIG ART

I made a class that will really supercharge your small art game.

In BIG ART, we make BIG ART 2 inches at a time! We will draw and paint on lots of tiny “inchie” watercolor squares just 2 x 2 inches. I’ll show you several playful drawing and painting techniques in 11 projects. You’ll create a lot of little art at your own pace, and before you know it, you’ll put them together to create your unique BIG ART.

Share What Intrigues You About Small Art:

What do you love most about small art? Tell us about it in the comments. One of our commenters won a free spot in my class, The Little Book of Wonder, where I teach all about gathering your slow drawings, slow paintings, and inchies in a unique little book with pop-ups, doors, windows, and flaps. The perfect place to keep your special inchies.

Creatively Yours,

Amy

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Dear Wonderful, Creative You:

I get a lot of questions about watercolor painting and supplies, so today I’m setting out to make a comprehensive guide to help you on your watercolor journey. Watercolor can be a very technical, precise art form, but lately I love to use it for layering gorgeous abstract swaths of color. One of the things I’m often chatting with folks in my membership about, is the importance of making room for playfulness so that when you are playing with watercolor or any other medium, it’s inviting, not intimidating.

I also use watercolor with my drawings in art journals. You can do so much with the basics.

I find that while it takes practice to get a hang of the basic watercolor techniques, if you don’t have good supplies, it doesn’t matter how much you practice, your results will never be the same as the ones you see in the tutorials. My advice is to buy a little bit of the best supplies you can afford, whatever that means for you.

However, if you already have some paints, just start with what you have and see where that takes you. If you are open to play and experiment, it can take you pretty far, and then if you decide you are really into watercolor, you can buy a nice brush and a few nice paints and pad of cotton paper.

I’ll walk you through what supplies I use, how I economize my materials and make them last a long time, and then teach you some basic techniques. At the end I’ve got a lovely invitation for you too:

Join us for the Watercolor Wonder Retreat on March 20th and 21st. You can learn more here – it’s on early bird sale!

Watercolor Paper

Most often I work on Arches cold press 140lb cotton watercolor paper cut into smaller pieces – sometimes in quarters, or sometimes small enough to fit in my hand. This helps me to experiment and push my ideas by working small. It also helps me feel less precious with the paper.

Cotton paper is more expensive than the wood pulp papers, such as the Strathmore papers I use for slow drawings, but the results for watercolor techniques are far superior using cotton paper. This is a great paper for doing watercolor bleeds and blooms that so many folks want to learn. Dick Blick also makes a pretty good paper for practicing.

Watercolor Brushes

I tend to use round brushes most because I find them versatile and easy to manipulate. I love the Golden Taklon or Utrecht series from Dick Blick.

I also love to paint with bamboo brushes for loopy, loose, organic lines in abstract pieces that I combine with my slow drawing patterns. Don’t worry, while it looks all messy when it’s dry, once you wet it, it gets that beautiful point.

How do I hold my brush?

Many people hold the brush closer than I do – on the ferrule. Experiment and see what feels comfortable for you and how you feel you get the best results.

Generally speaking I hold my brush the way I hold a pen or pencil, but a bit further back – just above the ferrule – the metal part that holds the bristles to the brush. When I’m doing tiny details, sometimes I hold it on the ferrule – closer to the tip.

If I find my hand is unsteady, like if I’m try to use the tip of my brush to make a very fine line, I will sometimes use my other hand to create a tripod of sorts and steady it. This really helps.

If I’m trying to make loose, intuitive lines, I will hold even further back on the brush and with a very light grip – this helps me to let go figuratively and literally and get the inner critic out of the way so that I can paint more freely.

Watercolor Palette

I mix on a big, white ceramic palette so I can see clearly what colors are mixing for me. You can also use white dinner plates or white plastic trays from the thrift store.

I’m hosting a lovely live gathering to teach all about how I create with watercolor on March 20th and 21st live on Zoom. Join us for the Watercolor Wonder Retreat March 20th and 21st. You can learn more here.

Since my palette does not have cups for dabs of watercolor paint, I squeeze my paint blobs onto the edge so that I can pull color into the palette to mix, but only intermingle it with other colors when I want to. This makes sure I have a big space in the middle for mixing colors, which is one of the most fun parts of watercolor painting for me.

Watercolor Paint

You don’t need a ton of watercolor paints. One of the most common misconceptions about watercolor paint is that you need to buy every color under the sun. Instead, buy a few basic colors in the highest quality paint you can afford, and then mix your own color variations. Your colors will be more dynamic and rich.

I love Daniel Smith watercolor paints, the colors are beautiful and intense. The watercolor tubes in the photo above show my entire collection of tubes. The ones I personally use most often shift with each creative project, but I especially love yellow ochre, burnt umber, rose madder permanent, indigo, and lately, quinacrindone burnt orange and phthalo turquiose.

For my projects, I typically only use 2 -3 colors at a time. I mix them liberally and get to understand the range of colors they can produce together. This creates a harmonious palette on my pieces, but also allows me to get to know each color well.

For a beginner, I would suggest purchasing a basic set of 6, such as this one from Daniel Smith. You can mix so many colors with these.

Isn’t watercolor paint expensive?

While each tube of watercolor paint is expensive – I find they last a long time. With acrylic paint, once you squeeze it out, you use it or lose it. Sometimes you might be able to save it a day with plastic wrap, but generally speaking you must use what you dispense and mix in the moment. I use and reuse the paint on my palette – and anything I squeeze out can be used today and on future sessions – you just add water to reactivate it. Also, because I tend to work small and experimental, my paints go a long way.

Water

Water is a really important element in watercolor painting. I love that because I feel like I am collaborating with nature when I paint. I use two water jars – one clean for creating a clear wash on the page when I do wet-on-wet technique, and one for rinsing my brush.

Since I let paint dry on my palette – I use my spray bottle to wet the colors I’m going to mix before I begin. I do this both for the paint blobs and for the mixed colors that have dried in the middle of my palette. I let spray water sit for a few minutes to activate the paint before I begin mixing – this helps me get intense colors.

How do you mix the beautiful colors you use?

I’d love to share with you about how I mix the colors I am using currently.

Let’s dive into this video about my basic watercolor techniques:

One thing I like to always suggest when mixing colors is to use a color test sheet.

If I need to mix more of a color, I can see how close I am to my initial mix and make adjustments. I can also see how my colors look next to one another before I commit to my painting.

Want more guidance and play?

I am hosting a watercolor live Zoom retreat on March 20th and 21st and you are invited to join us. Watercolor Wonder is two creative, luxurious evenings of exploring and dwelling in the flow of watercolor paint. You’ll get to know your paints and brushes through exploratory exercises. You’ll create blooming, bold clouds of color, and gentle washes and marks that will set the stage for your slow drawings and mark-making.

What are your favorite watercolor tips and tricks? Tell us about it in the comments!

Creatively Yours,

Amy

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Dear Wonderful, Creative You:

This year is going to be SO full of creative goodness in this community, and you are invited to join in. The Simplest Things Challenge is a free 5-day challenge where you create something simple each day in your art journal. Sign up for this FREE challenge here:

Sign up for The Simplest Things Challenge!

The idea started for me a few years ago, when I asked myself: What’s the simplest thing I could do in my journal right now? Here’s what emerged:

I realized how freeing this question is. No pressure to make a masterpiece or something complicated – just an invitation to show up and be a little bit creative.

I created this challenge to help you feel the same freedom and permission to create. You can join us for The Simplest Things Challenge is February 5 – 9th. Each day of the challenge, you’ll get a word prompt and inspirational photo to get you started. You will see how these small creative steps build to big, beautiful art pieces.

Sign up for The Simplest Things Challenge – It’s Free!

Our simple ideas are enough. There are so many missed opportunities when we dismiss our simple ideas. Western culture does a doozy on us – making it seem like the arts are only for “professionals,” when the arts are for everyone. They are a healing, expressive outlet that belongs to us all, and has since the beginning of humanity.

Have a Peek at Simplest Things Challenge Student Work:

What is the simplest thing I could do in my journal right now?

Creating with permission to focus on simplicity is nourishing. I can slow down and just breathe into it. Drawing and painting simple things eases my anxiety. Every time I ask myself this question, it creates space for my best creative ideas because there’s no pressure.

It’s about putting one foot in front of the other and following the path to see where it leads. Usually, our best art begins with a simple idea.

The Simplest Things Challenge starts on February 5th. It’s free – I created it to help you develop a simple and powerful art habit.

Sign Up Now!

How to Participate:

+Sign up for the challenge right now in the box above.

+Each day of the challenge, I’ll email you a WRITTEN (not a video) prompt, inspiring photo, and ways to create.

I can’t wait to see how this transforms your art and art practice! What are you hoping to accomplish in the challenge? Are there any lingering doubts we can help you with?

Creatively Yours,

Amy

The post Jump-Start Your Creativity in 2024 appeared first on Mindful Art Studio®.

Dear Wonderful, Creative You:

Over the last year I’ve been playing with 5 beginner watercolor techniques that are relatively simple, and yet they give me room for so much play and discovery. Watercolor is so much about freedom and play for me – and I love sharing with students and folks in my membership, about the key techniques that make all that freedom possible.

Step 1: Start with a simple shape.

I’m a big fan of what I call “flexible structure.” It’s something that helps to organize your efforts, but there’s enough wiggle room for you to play without feeling hemmed in. Within your shape, you can experiment and see what results you enjoy. My favorite shapes seem always to always be round ones – circles, eggs, ovals, or rice shapes. My watercolor explorations this year have mostly been in circles and it’s taken me in all sorts of directions.

Step 2: Let the colors bleed.

Bleeding is one of the most fun techniques in watercolor, and while it takes a bit of practice, it’s definitely a beginner friendly watercolor technique. Try to use at least student grade watercolor paper – since cheap paper will buckle excessively and frustrate you. To create a bleed, wet the entirety of your shape with plain water so that it’s shiny, but not a pool of water. Then, saturate your brush with a color you love and touch it to the wet part of the page. Watch it spread and bloom, or “bleed.” Play with doing this just once, or several times. This is one of my favorite mindful art activities. I touch the brush to the page and watch how water and paint interact. Take your time, and enjoy observing the paint move.

Join My FREE Weekly Drawing and Painting Workshops

Step 3: Paint In Layers.

There’s so much you can do by layering watercolor, both when it’s wet, and when it’s dry. Experiment with several shapes at the same time so you can see the effects of different approaches. On your palette, try mixing your original color with some blue or red. You will now have a new color. Load your brush with this new color. Touch this deeper color to the wet shape without overlapping the first color. See how this new bleed of color impacts what is already on the page. Try this again later, but on one of your dry circles as well.

Step 4: Play With Concentric Shapes

Play with nesting your shape within itself. I’m using concentric circles, but you might use nested boxes, or triangles, or pumpkins. There’s no right or wrong, and the truth is that there’s an amazing piece of art waiting to be made from any variation you can invent. It’s a matter of you committing to give yourself the time, permission, and supplies to play and find joy in this adventure of creating.

Step 5: Make a lot of the same thing with tiny variations.

When I started these circles in March of this year, they were more amorphous circular shapes nested within each other. Then they turned into mussel shells, then back into nested circles, and then into magical little orbs. I’ve given myself complete permission to play, without needing to know what they are “for” or whether they are “good enough.” They just are. They are my art, and they deserve time and space to come into being and evolve.

I find it’s really important to give myself as much permission to play as possible. That’s how I develop my best skills and work, but it’s also how I find the most joy, and that’s what keeps me coming back to my art table again and again. And that’s the point after all, isn’t it? To find joy in this process of creativity?

I’d love to hear about the watercolor techniques you most enjoy. Tell us about it in the comments.

Creatively Yours,

Amy

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