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:

I’ve seen and heard a lot of artists questioning lately – Why make art at a time like this? They wonder whether it makes sense to make and share art when there is so much uncertainty and strife in the world.

I question this myself sometimes too: There are wars and hunger, people are under threat, and suffering. What is the purpose of sharing about drawing and painting from nature right now? Aren’t there much more important things to do and talk about?

I don’t know how to answer that question exactly, but my training as a therapist tells me that if we want to survive and thrive, we have to take care of ourselves.

If we want to help others, to take action and make a difference, we have to take care of ourselves.

Taking care of ourselves and taking care of others don’t have to be mutually exclusive, they can work in concert. 

Today I thought I’d share about several artists who are using art to take care of themselves, and teaching others to do the same, even as the world feels so uncertain. I hope they inspire you to create today.

Kate Ward , The Power of Single Tasking for Grounding

Kate Ward practices and teaches mindful mending. She and I share a love of slow creative tasks, and recently she talked about the power of finding calm through single tasking…

“Stitching taught me the beauty of 𝙙𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙩 𝙖 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚. When I focus on 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 stitch, my thoughts slow, my breathing steadies, and I feel grounded. Multitasking pulls us in too many directions. But stitching? It brings us back to ourselves. It’s a simple, meditative act that reminds us how powerful presence can be.” You’ll find Kate and her teaching at https://www.zenstitching.ca/

Koosje Koene, The Importance of Capturing Gratitude

Practicing gratitude is one of those trendy ideas lately – but that’s for a reason – it really does help us to feel more grounded and hopeful. Humans have a natural tendency to notice what isn’t right. But by focusing not only on what isn’t okay, but also on what is going well, we amplify our vision of what is good and beautiful in the world, and we feel a bit better for it. When we feel better, then we can take action for change.

“My backyard makes me feel so fortunate. I just have to capture it in my sketchbook – even if I don’t know how to capture all the abundance and magic. Just start and enjoy, that’s the answer.” – Koosje Koene. You’ll find Koosje’s beautiful art and drawing classes at https://www.koosjekoene.com/

Sam Clark, Art as a Way to Move Through Fear

Sam Clark writes and audio records a beautiful weekly newsletter that I find myself reading or listening to more often than any other lately. Her writing about nature and art inspire me to look deeper for the beauty around me – in the wind tickling my cheek, in the turn of a feather lazily making its way from the tree tops to the ground.

With her incredibly repetitive mark making that mimics patterns and movement in nature, you can see where our sensibilities align. In one of her recent newsletters, she talked about “painting as a way to practice moving through the fear.” I know this is a big part of what helps me when things feel worrisome for me. Sam Clark’s work and teaching live at https://www.samanthaclark.net/

Helen Wells, The Power of Repetition

Repetition is one of the tools that as an artist, I find most powerful. It connects you to what you love and helps you dwell more deeply with it. I find this in my repetitive nature-based patterns, but also in every art process that I dive deeply into – from painting multiple-layer watercolor paintings, to drawings of dogwood blossoms, and explorations of river foam in paper cuts. There’s a joy in getting to know something over and over again – knowing it each time more intimately – as you get to know it from new angles, and new layers. This is a way to be fully present in the moment – a mindful meditation through art.

I love how Helen puts it:

“Repetition isn’t always boring. Coming back to the same subject again and again can be illuminating. Repetition isn’t unoriginal, it’s a way of noticing. It builds muscle memory. With each return, you distill. You learn what you love most.
It becomes a framework for freedom, not a rut, more like a rhythm. A variation on a theme as old as art-making itself.

You don’t always need constant novelty. Sometimes you need to linger, to return. To stay with what delights you. That’s how you learn about yourself as an artist. Again and again. Over and over.” You will find Helen’s vibrant work and teaching at: https://helenwellsartist.com/

How I Use Art to Take Care of Myself – Finding and Sharing Moments of Delight

If I’m being honest, I try to take care of myself and others by doing all of the things these other artists do – that’s why I chose to highlight their work and insights – I feel aligned with their work. But I wanted to demonstrate other artist’s ways of finding peace through art besides my own because I think it helps to see something from multiple angles. But I will highlight another way that art making helps me to take care of myself- it helps me to find a sense of delight and joy in my day. Joy doesn’t have to be grand. It can be small things, like being pleased with how I’ve rendered some leaves and a tiny beetle, or the way my paper cuts and an eco-dyed page compliment each other. And I love sharing these kinds of insights with my students in my membership, and through weekly slow drawing workshops. It’s one of the ways I use my art to take care of others. If you haven’t already, I’d love to invite you to join me in a practice of drawing and painting slowly – it’s a grounding, playful practice, and you don’t need any art experience.

Jenna Castos, How Art Connects Us

Jenna articulates beautifully why making art matters in these times: “Art is so important in times like these—it connects us, brings us joy, gives us hope, and communicates the complexities of being a human during tough times. Don’t stop creating and don’t stop sharing.” Thanks for encapsulating it all, Jenna. You’ll find Jenna’s beautiful art and creations at Pen and Pine.

Share Your Thoughts Too!

How does your art help you take care of yourself? Or others? How do you find grounding, joy, or connection through art?

Creatively Yours,

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:

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!

The post How to Make a Tracing Paper Envelope appeared first on Mindful Art Studio®.

Dear Wonderful, Creative You:

I love making my own books to create in. It always gives me the feeling like I’m extra artsy, you know what I mean? And one of the absolute easiest ways to do this is by folding a one page booklet. In my membership, The Gathering, for the month of August, we did a deep dive into the topic of healing the inner critic.

My students talk about feeling crippled by the critic’s many criticisms and excuses – does that happen sometimes for you too? I know I get caught in the “I’m too busy” excuse. I wanted to share with you here about the booklet we made in one of my workshops, and how we created affirmations to help keep the critic at bay.

For September 2024 in The Gathering, our theme is Finding Artistic Freedom. We would love to have you join us for the following workshops:

The Gathering is the place where I get to think creatively about how to fully support you in creating your ideal art practice. It’s the place where other artists just like you find joy in sharing their work and cheering you on for yours. It really is a non-judgmental, joyful place.

When you join for the full year at the discounted rate of $216, I will send you a bonus class – Freeing the Muse – which will help you to tune into your artistic instincts through expressive exercises in ink and gesso.

Tell Us About Your One Page Booklet

I’d love to hear about your experience with the booklet in the comments. What is the title of your book? What kinds of affirmations have you included in it?

Creatively Yours,

Amy

The post How to Fold a One Page Booklet appeared first on Mindful Art Studio®.

Dear Wonderful, Creative You:

I made this botanical watercolor for beginners tutorial just for you. We talk a lot in my membership, The Gathering, about the power of preparation – like warming up the engine of a car – it helps you to get the creative juices flowing. So let’s start painting now!

Materials:

You can use what you have already, but here’s a list of what I’m using in case you are curious:

Watercolor journal – This is a handmade coptic bound journal using Arches 140 lb cotton watercolor paper

Materials for the leaves:

• Indigo, Daniel Smith Watercolor
• Olive Green, Daniel Smith Watercolor
• #4 Round Utrecht watercolor brush

Materials for the Stems:

• Yellow Ochre, Daniel Smith Watercolor
• Quinacridone Burnt Orange, Daniel Smith Watercolor
• #1 Simply Simmons Script Liner brush or #1 round brush

Can you see how repetition creates pattern, beauty, and relaxation?

I want you to see that you do have the time and the talent to create in a small art journal or on a small card each day.

I’d love to hear about your experience making this page and other patterned and botanical pages. Share with us in the comments.

And if you fall in love with the process, you can join our Drawing Closer to Nature class.

Creatively Yours,

Amy

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Dear Wonderful, Creative You:

I’m excited to share 15 small drawing ideas you can do in 5 minutes to fill your journals with joy. I thought it would be fun to share a few of my favorites to see if they spark something for you. If you work small, you can do a lovely drawing in just 5 minutes. This is something I host workshops on in my community, The Gathering – to help us use those little chunks of time to create. I’ve found that when I bring my portable art kit, I can make time for art in a lot of places – like in the doctor’s office, or parked in a parking lot, or at the soccer field. There’s time for art when we do just a tiny bit of prep.

If you work on tiny pieces, later you can glue them into your journal, or if you draw directly in a you small journal, you can fill a 2 page spread by drawing a little bit each day. I’ll show you examples of both approaches in the photos in this post.

Progressively smaller circles

For this piece, I used a circle with a blue watercolor background. I think the blue with the black ink is striking together. I have this tiny piece, and did an identical one that is a several inches bigger as well.

Waves

The square on the left has some collage on it, but look closely and you’ll see that it’s actually a series of gentle waves. I love drawing lines super close together and watching the line migrate this way and that.

Gingko leaves

You might notice that I have a lone gingko leaf on the collage page above, and on the page below I’ve just filled the 2-page spread with them, while also exploring interesting negative shapes between each leaf.

Want to learn to draw these patterns?

Join me for our FREE weekly workshop!

Triangles

I love this triangle pattern. It’s so simple and yet gives such a sense of sturdiness and wonderful texture.

Feathers painted in ink

This has been one of my favorite slow painting patterns. Feathers are great fun to explore with their fringy edges and patterns.

Simple, stylized flowers

You might recall that I drew this pattern on a small piece of paper in the photo at the top of the post. Why did I draw them here too? Repetition in art is important. It’s important to let yourself have fun, and repetition builds skill and creativity as you make tiny adjustments with each drawing.

Watercolor lines

I love to paint long, flowing lines all in one color with varying levels of intensity. You can see my pink lines on the page below, opposite the floating lunaria seed pods.

Lunaria Seed Pods

Lunaria are those beautiful little seed heads that look like a lantern lit up. They are delicate and beautiful.

You too can draw and paint these patterns.

Join me for our FREE pattern drawing weekly workshop!

X shapes in watercolor

This pattern looks like a flock of birds – and yet it’s so simple and fun!

Painted watercolor circles

I had a blast exploring the concentric circles in different color combinations. I use these circles on art journal pages, in collages, and for finished pieces.

Grains of rice

This pattern has been a long time favorite for me and my students. You can do so much with so little! This is a full art journal spread of the Rice pattern, but I’ve also made truly large pieces with it, built from 2 inch squares. I find the simpler the pattern, the more endless the possibilities!

Simple brush marks over a watercolor wash

I had some watercolor wash backgrounds that were just too subtle to be interesting, so I cut them up. When I was looking for different ways to experiment with my new iron gall ink, I really enjoyed painting simple strokes of the deep charcoal color against the faint blue. I think this spread is a great example of how a series of very simple marks presented next to each other can create a lot of interest.

Make Your Own Pop-Up Book:

If you love this style of journal with all the flaps, pop-ups and windows, check out my pop-up book class: The Little Book of Wonder where you’ll learn it all.

Painted tiny circles and dots

I love this spread because it’s got so much repetition. Indigo circles, black circles, and big, black dots. For me, it doesn’t take much – I love repeated patterns!

Combine two of these patterns together to create something new

This spread has the rice pattern, a variation on the flower drawing from above, simple brush marks, and amorphous little cutout shapes.

I hope you noticed how much repetition happened throughout my journals. It’s okay to repeat yourself in art – especially if you are enjoying the pattern and having fun with it.

My students frequently worry about being “boring” but I often find that students flit from one thing to the next and end up with a result that bores them. When you jump around too much and don’t focus, the work is too safe – it’s too much like the teacher’s sample – or it’s trite – it’s missing that special twist that only you could put on it.

The good material from within each of us has an opportunity to arise when you repeat something again and again, and give it room to breathe, change, and evolve.

You know if you are playing it safe and boring or if something is lighting you up. Trust your instincts.I would love to hear about your experience. What kinds of patterns do you like to put in your journal? Share your ideas in the comments.

Creatively Yours,

Amy

P.S. Make Your Own Pop-Up Book: If you would love to make beautiful, dynamic journals with pop-ups and windows, check out my pop-up book class: The Little Book of Wonder where you’ll learn it all.

The post 15 Drawing Ideas You Can Do in 5 Minutes appeared first on Mindful Art Studio®.

Dear Wonderful, Creative You:

Making marks with natural brushes is one of the most fun and inventive ways to create. I’m excited to share some of what I’ve made and how it has supercharged my art practice.

It’s been such an adventure to see how natural brushes push me out of my comfort zone and help me to embrace more and more adventurous ideas.

Art Supplies for Mark Making With Natural Materials

If you are curious about my art supplies, I’m using tracing paper and a combination of inks and high flow acrylics. (I’ve switched to mostly inks these days.) For mark making, of course I’m using natural materials, as well as gel pens and Micron pens.

Join In the Wild Places on Early Bird Pricing

You can still join In the Wild Places on early bird pricing through Friday September 30th, 2023. Click here to learn more. I would love to have you join and see the amazing work you’ll create.

Creatively Yours,

Amy

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Dear Wonderful, Creative You:

Art making permeates my life. When I’m not making it, I’m thinking about making it, or sharing it with you. But I know that sometimes you want to make art, but it’s a struggle to actually make it happen. You wonder how to actually art journal every day.

How I Art Journal Every Day

A big part of what helped me art journal every day (or nearly every) was working small. I realized how easy it was to carry a small journal or bits of paper and a pen in my bag. It made waiting more fun and meaningful. Soon I was exploring my ideas more fully and my art became more playful and my work started to bloom in new ways. That sounds good, right?

I love to work with little 2 x 2 inch pieces I loosely call inchies. You can join me for my free weekly slow drawing workshops to learn the patterns I use in the book below:

Sometimes folks ask me what to do with these little pieces of art. I have a LOT of ideas on that, and I wanted to share one of my favorites here:

As a teacher and facilitator, my biggest hope is to offer you ways to connect to your art practice and find the same joy and sense of connection that it brings me.

Learn to Draw Nature Inspired Patterns

You can learn more about my slow drawing approach here.

Comment for a Chance to Win!

*The Inchie Challenge is over – but you can join my free weekly slow drawing workshops where we draw small nature – inspired patterns.

What do you hope the Inchie Challenge will do for your art practice? What would it be like if you made art daily, at least for a little while?

I’d love to hear about your experience, and, if you comment on this post, you’ll have a chance for a free spot in my class, BIG ART, where I will show you various inchie projects where you can start with a few little pieces and build to big art pieces you can hang on your wall.

Creatively Yours,

Amy

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