Creative Self-Care: A 5 Day Watercolor Challenge

STRESS. It’s all around us! If you’re anything like me, you might find yourself tossing and turning at night thinking about your never ending to-do list, worrying about loved ones, or waking up in the morning with a clenched jaw and tight muscles. We all know stress isn’t good for our bodies or mental health, but more often than not we choose to ignore it until it manifests in ugly ways (hello insomnia, irritability, and anxiety!). In this class, we are going to talk all about how to use watercolors to alleviate stress, relax our minds, and build confidence - ALL while mastering basic techniques needed to improve your painting skills. It’s a win-win!

There are five main exercises that will be spread out over five days (although you may choose to do them in one sitting - that’s totally up to you!). Each exercise includes a demonstration of a basic watercolor technique (creating washes, brush control, layering, and composition) and ends with a unique prompt that will help reduce stress as you paint.

This is a beginning watercolor course and suitable for newcomers, but having previous knowledge of color mixing/theory may be beneficial. The stress reduction part of the class is for anyone - from uptight Type-A gals like me to total zen master Gurus. Let’s be honest - we all could benefit from a little self care!

Since I don’t want to add any stress to your life (wink wink, see what I did there?), our class project is super simple. Snap a quick picture of your work and upload to the community project section. I leave feedback on Every. Single. One! Bonus points if you share your favorite stress relief method covered in the course.

 

• Introduction
• Supplies
• Day 1: Washes & Affirmations
• Day 2: Lines & Gratitude
• Day 3: Shapes & Relaxation
• Day 4: Layers & Laughter
• Day 5: Applying What We've Learned
• Conclusion