DAY 5: YOUR HAND

Welcome to Day 5.

Today I have a different kind of invitation for you: Your Hand. Our hands are remarkable, and today we’re going to honor them by painting them.

When I was a teenager, I saw Michelangelo’s The Creation of Adam in the Sistine Chapel in Rome, and it left a lasting impression on me. I left Vatican’s gift shop with a letter paper pad showing a detailed view of the two hands nearly touching. I wrote a lot of letters on that pad. The depiction is full of magic and I found the two hands deeply inspiring.

My own hands mean a great deal to me as they are so connected to my profession as a painter. My art flows through my heart, down my arm, and out through my hand onto the brush. I also use my hands to write these words, tend to my garden and gently brush hair out of my children’s eyes.

Today’s Invitation

There isn’t one right way to paint today. Choose whichever idea feels most playful or meaningful to you. Here are a few ideas for how to have fun today.

  • Trace your hand: My children love to trace their hand on the paper, and then color it. Simply place your hand on your canvas pad, spread the fingers and trace the outline. I often color the nails and add elaborate rings on my fingers, maybe a colorful bracelet on my wrist. This is the original idea for this challenge. It demonstrates how easy it is to tap into our creativity when we stay outside our ego.
  • Color in the whole outline: Instead of limiting the coloring to the nails and fun jewelry, paint the whole hand. Maybe add a few hands and overlap the fingers.
  • Make a hand print: Paint your hand first and then make a handprint onto your canvas paper. Create a heart with two hand prints, or a tulip and add the stem and leaves. This works with tracing first and then coloring as well. This adds fun texture to the paper.
  • Body paint: Instead of using the canvas pad as your paper, use your hand. Use a soft brush for some sensory play. What do you see when you view your hand, beyond the roadmap of life and the valleys and hills? Clouds and moonlight? A dancer? A heart?
  • Hand painting study: Use your hand as your subject. Shape your hand in a different shape and sketch it onto the canvas. Then either paint it realistically or just use the darker and lighter tones.

The Painting Practice

Remember to turn off your phone notifications before you start.

  1. Create an outline if you’d like.
  2. While looking at your hand, think about how you’d like to honor it today.
  3. Choose whatever colors inspire you.
  4. Grab some water and your brushes, and don’t forget a towel to clean off your wet brush. If you decide to paint directly on your skin, remember that some paints contain pigments or ingredients that aren’t intended for skin and can be difficult to remove. Use care and wash thoroughly afterward.
  5. 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.
  6. Claim your creativity and honor your journey of showing up for yourself by signing your art work.

Celebrate Your Progress:

Take a photo of today’s creation—whether it’s your finished painting or your painted hand—and share it with your community.

As you share, I’d love to hear:

  • How did today’s open-ended prompt feel?
  • Which idea did you choose?
  • Did painting your own hand change the way you looked at it?

I can’t wait to see what you created. If you feel inspired to continue painting beyond 20 minutes, please do. I’d love to hear about that, too.