Week 32: Continuous Line Drawing

This week on the 52-Week Art Journal Journey we’re going to relax into some continuous line drawing. And I mean it! You need to let yourself relax and enjoy it, not overthink or critique.

As it sounds, a continuous line drawing is a picture made with one continuous line. As with our blind contour drawings we let go of perfection with, we need to keep our pens on the page for the entire shape.

I had some fun making single objects, then moved on to making an entire little flower garden. I got out the watercolors again, too.

If you’re new to the 52-Week Art Journal Journey, and wondering what it’s all about, click here to watch the video introduction on YouTube. You can also check out the 52-Week Art Journal Journey tab above. Thank you for the opportunity to encourage you to reclaim your creativity, and establish a healthy habit of creative self-care through art journaling.

Get out that Sharpie, or…

Before you take on making an entire scene like my little flower garden, have fun trying out flowers and other objects singly. Scroll on down to the video if you’d like to check out what it looks like in process.

I started with a Sharpie, nice bold lines. I then used a Micron pen, which allows more delicate drawings. Links below. Use any waterproof pen or marker you have, or a pencil if you’d like. Just don’t erase if you choose pencil!

I ended up making several pages of small, and not-so-small simple continuous line drawings in my art journal for this week’s prompt. Many of them before I had a chance to start filming. I had a lot of fun with it… and want you to, too!

Just DRAW. Don’t think too much about it, just make the shapes that make the objects you’d like to draw, without lifting your pen from your page.

I like how flower petals and leaves look when drawn around several times… rather messily. But a single line can work, too. I prefer single lines for making simple objects, and for making fun funky faces… except on the eyebrows…

After you’ve gotten comfortable with drawing single objects, try your hand at putting some together in a scene… Oooh! I want to try a bouquet of flowers next…

Add color as you want

I continue to be impressed by how many colors I can make with just my inexpensive basic-eight set of Crayola watercolors (that’s an Amazon link, but I found them for less at my local not-just-a-dollar dollar store). It doesn’t have to be expensive to reclaim your creativity. See below for other art supplies used in this video, including the art journals that continue to be the best regular price I’ve found.

I painted two pages of my solo objects, as seen in the video, as well as my little garden.

Want to enjoy some of my inspiration for stress-free continuous line drawing? Check out this Instagram reel by one of my favorites, Andrea Nelson.

Draw continuous lines… and journal them

As you draw… or before… or after, think about the continuous lines in your life. What things do you notice follow you through the years, or guide you, that maybe seem to fade away for a bit but always show back up… How have they impacted you? Who are you today because of them… or despite them?Because maybe these particular things that are a regular part of you life are positive, and maybe they’re not. Have you developed habits in response to them? Are they healthy? Or do you need to develop some new coping mechanisms?

Think about lines that run continuously through your life… and journal about them.

Supplies

Here’s the link to the art journals I mentioned above. I love the paper! It holds up well even wet. They’re in most of my videos, and what we use in the art journaling group at my local library. Also used in this week’s video are a black Sharpie (I stocked up when I found them on sale; you can also find them on Amazon here) and a Micron pen… though I can’t remember which size. Sorry! Click here to see the set I bought through Blick Art Materials if you’re looking to try them out. Yup, these are affiliate links, friends. If you click and make a qualifying purchase I receive a small commission. This doesn’t affect your price, but earns me a few cents to support sharing my healthy art habit with others… So thank you if you do!

Whether or not you decide to utilize the writing prompt as part of this week’s creative self-care, there’s always the option of adding words or phrases to your small art… I chose B L O O M.

That’s one thing art does for me. It makes me bloom.

If you choose to share your art on social media to encourage others to reclaim their creativity, tag me @melindavanry on Instagram. I’m @melindavanrydesign on Facebook. And the #artjournalwithmelinda. If you’d like to share, be encouraged, and encourage others on this journey, in a smaller safe environment, email subscribers are invited to join my new Art Journal Journey Facebook group. Click here to sign up for an extra bit of weekly creative self-care encouragement, and occasional deals.

I’ll be back next week with another small-art and journaling prompt. In the meantime, have fun with continuous line drawing! You can also check out past prompts you may have missed, or revisit favorites.