creativity – Ginger Simpson White

doodling on watercolors…

In my creative play time with art supplies, there are several different things I consider to be on my list of favorites because I can’t choose just one.

Painting with metallic watercolors on a black background definitely has a spot on that list. I sometimes use black paper. Other times I cover a white or cream journal page with black gesso and let it dry.

And then I spend time painting and playing with the metallic watercolors.

And then…sometimes I add outlining and doodling with pens or markers.

It’s how I spent several hours this past week. I opened one of my journals to a page I’d started a few days earlier where I’d used metallic watercolors on black gesso (a part of that page was shown in my last post) and I got out gel pens in white, pink, yellow, green, and blue.

With the white gel pen, I started outlining some of the shapes that had formed from the metallic watercolors. And I doodled – sometimes on top of the watercolors, sometimes on the black gesso – using the white and pink and yellow and green and blue gel pens.

Hanging out with my husband while the TV played in the background, I let myself relax into the calming distraction of doodling.

Over the following few days, I picked up my journal and added more bits and bobs and dots and doodles.

Just breathing slowly, letting the pens and colors play on the page, distracting my mind from the worries and fears of life.

Doing this is SO calming and relaxing and distracting.

I filled up the page with hours of something that helped me feel more peace and joy.

I’ll probably add a bit more to this page over the weekend. There are some areas, especially in the lower right, where I’ll spend some time doodling.

And then, eventually, I’ll paint another page with black gesso or I’ll get out my journal filled with black paper, and I’ll open a set of my metallic watercolor paints, and I’ll do some more of this type of creative play.

I’ll do it for more calm, more inner quiet, more peace.

More soul nourishment.

❤

a reminder (and a printable)…

Play. Create. Breathe.

Take it moment by moment.

Play helps. Creativity helps. And consciously taking a few breaths, making sure your exhale is nice and slow, also helps.

And then…repeat as needed.

❤

If you’d like this as a printable, please feel free to save the image and print, with no need to sign up for anything. Other printables can be found here (be sure to select “older posts” to see the full selection).

another personal at-home summer art retreat…

With all of the stress and change and difficulty of the past several months (and longer), I decided to have another personal at-home summer art retreat. Last year’s – which you can read about here – was fun and nourishing, and it helped me cope.

So I decided to do it again.

Since starting on June 1, I’ve been spending more time than usual painting and doodling and art journaling. There’s nothing structured. No set schedule. Just doing my best to make more time for creative play.

Sometimes I doodle.

I’ve been drawing some mandalas and using colored markers to color them (which is sooo relaxing and calming).

I’ve returned to some old canvases to make some changes.

Even something as simple as painting watercolor swatches counts as part of my art retreat.

The main thing is to have fun. It’s relaxing for me, it helps reduce my levels of stress and anxiety, and it keeps me connected to my creativity.

And creativity is a joy connection for me.

The months since last summer’s personal at-home art retreat have been difficult ones. My husband has had a stroke, which has brought us changes and challenges. He’s had surgery to get a pacemaker. There have been numerous doctor visits and tests and procedures.

And my days have held a lot of stress, anxiety, and fear of the future.

Creativity has been helping me. Writing, painting, sketching, doodling. All done with no pressure. All done just for the enjoyment of it – just for the doing of it.

That’s why it was an easy decision for me to have another personal at-home summer art retreat this year. It’s something I’m doing for my own self care and soul nourishment.

I hope you have something that brightens your days and lightens your load. It doesn’t have to be a commitment for the whole summer. It doesn’t have to be an at-home art retreat. It doesn’t have to be anything with timelines or guidelines or pressure.

It just needs to be something that connects you to joy and nourishes your soul.

Something that helps you get through your days.

❤