
You can practice creative self-care & learn even if you have only minutes
Sometimes when we want to enjoy the benefits of art-making, all we have time or energy for is quick & easy. This week’s small art is perfect for that, especially if you want to work on your watercolor skills and play with color theory.
I didn’t have time to finish beautifying last week’s chaos and make it into a video for you this week, but that’s okay. We can come back to it next week and get a little watercolor practice with a bit of color theory while practicing creative self-care with art-making in the meantime!
All you need is yellow and purple watercolors for today’s simple exercise. Complementary colors make each other pop when they’re next to each other, but when you blend them together, they mute each other. We’ll work from pure yellow at the top of our painting to pure purple at the bottom.
As the video shows, not drying the layers as you add progressively more purple as you move down the page creates a less defined look to your mountain range. If you have time, feel free to play with both wet and dry.
Scroll beyond the video if you’d like to know more about the art journal and INEXPENSIVE paint I use. You can also sign up to be notified of upcoming online and in-person workshops, and join the BETTER WITH ART online community private Facebook group.
Reclaiming your creativity doesn’t need to cost a lot of money. And, as this little project proves, you don’t need a lot of time to practice creative self-care.
If you’d like an art journal that’s ideal for my simple form of art journaling that uses various mediums, the paper is important. It needs to be heavy-weight and smooth. Hot-press if it’s watercolor or some heavier mixed-media paper, because although I love the texture of cold-press it’s really hard on markers and pens. The mixed-media art journal I use in my videos and the art journaling groups at the library where I work is 140lb/300gsm. It stands up to all my dry, wet, and layered applications. Sold in a three-pack on Amazon, it also remains the best regular-price value that I’ve found. Click here to check it out.
Click here for the inexpensive watercolor set I now use for my videos, the Prang basic eight colors.
If you use any of my Amazon product links and make a qualifying purchase, I will, at no cost to you, earn a commission, a convenient way you can support my channel with your purchase. So thanks if you do!
Ready for more creative self-care small-art prompts?
BETTER WITH ART
And, where it all started, The 52-Week Art Journal Journey
Thanks for joining me for BETTER WITH ART. I’m Melinda and I’m here to encourage you to reclaim your creativity and practice creative self-care with weekly small art prompts that can be done in an art journal or on paper if you don’t have one.
Taking time for art is not waste of time.
