DAY 11: UNDER WATER

Welcome to Day 11 of the Painting Challenge!

You’re now halfway through, can you believe it? Congratulations! You now have 10 paintings reminding you of your creative energy, meditative joy and how amazing you are at showing up for yourself.

At this point, you may feel excited to keep going, or you may feel so good that you’re tempted to stop.

No matter how you feel, I want to let you know that I’m proud of you and I’m eager for you to continue. Visualize how amazing you’ll feel when you sign your name on your last painting of this challenge. To experience the gifts of the full Painting Challenge, I encourage you to keep going.

With today’s challenge, we’re going underwater to paint blue algae. It may seem like an unusual subject, but algae play an important role in our ecosystem, producing oxygen and supporting aquatic life. They’re important. Just like you are.

Today we’re tapping into the gentle movement of the algae and the way it simply flows beneath the water, unfazed by everything happening around it.

The Painting Practice

Remember to turn off your phone notifications before you start.

  1. Sketch a rectangle measuring either 4×5 or 8×10 inches on your canvas paper.
  2. While looking at your reference photo as your inspiration, you’re going to start painting your background first, the water.
  3. Choose your colors, they can be whatever colors you like.
  4. Grab some water and your brushes, and don’t forget a towel to clean off your wet brush.
  5. Once you’ve painted the background, the water, that’s when you add the darker colored algae. You can continue forming the painting now that all pieces are in place by adding some more darker or lighter colors. Maybe some bright reflections giving the illusion that the sun is peeking through the water surface.
  6. Now, set a gentle timer and paint for 20 minutes for some meditative joy and playful painting. We’re going for fun and not perfection.
  7. Claim your creativity and honor your journey of showing up for yourself by signing your artwork.

SHARE YOUR CREATION:

Take a photo of today’s painting and share it with your community. You’re officially halfway through, and that’s worth celebrating!

As you share, I’d love to hear:

  • How did painting this underwater scene make you feel?
  • Were you able to tap into the gentle movement and flow of the water?
  • What are you most proud of after completing your first 11 days?

If you feel inspired to continue painting beyond 20 minutes, please do. I’d love to hear about that, too.