Watercolor Meditation #5: Opposites

This is the time of year when our family differences really show up. I love lots of holiday music. One of my kids does not. Two of us like a little tree, two of us like giant trees. Some of us like egg nog thick and sticky sweet, some of us like it thinner and less sweet. I like gift tags, others don't. Some of us like surprises, some don't.

There are a lot of opposites this time of year. This meditation is all about how beautiful that interaction can be.

Watercolor Meditation: OPPOSITES

Take a deep breath and relax.

Breathe in. Breathe out.

Relax your shoulders. Relax your arms and hands.

Breathe. You are going to have so much fun!

The purpose of this meditation is to show what beautiful things happen when opposites interact.

Gather your materials:

You will be able to use these few materials for all of the activities in the series.

Watercolor pigments: Tubes, pans, or sets. Whatever is easy for you to get and use. Make sure you like the colors. [You can also use coffee or tea if that's all you have close by.] If you have tubes, then you'll need an old plate or lid to use as a palette.
Paper: Any size mixed media paper or watercolor paper. Thicker watercolor paper won't buckle if you decide to use a lot of water in one of these activities. You'll need at least one sheet for each activity, but you'll probably have so much fun with some of these that you'll just keep playing. 6 x 6 inches or so is a nice size. Big enough to play, but not be too intimidating. If you have larger paper and want to cut it down, go right ahead. [You can also use a napkin if that's all you have close by.]
Brush: Any watercolor brush will do. Size 8 or 10 round is good for starters. [You can also use a straw, spoon, etc. if that's all you have close by.]
Water jar: To clean your brush in. A recycled food jar is great. Pint sized is great.

MEDITATION: OPPOSITES

Choose two colors that are very different, or opposite on the color wheel. Here are some good pairs:
- orange & blue
- red & green
- yellow & purple
Make puddles of each color on your palette. Thick puddles or thin puddles - like cream or tea. You choose.
Swish your brush around in the plain water. Get it good and clean and wet. Choose one of the colors you prepared and get some of that paint on your brush. Don't worry about how much. You can't do this wrong.
- Brush it from one corner of the paper into the center. Let it flow. You can add more pigment if you like to make some areas darker.
Swish your brush to clean it and get some of the other color you prepared on your brush. Don't worry about how much. You can't do this wrong.
- Brush it from the opposite corner of the paper into the center. Let it flow. You can add more pigment if you like to make some areas darker.
Let the colors mingle. You can drop plain water in the center to encourage them to flow.
- Watch the colors interact. Some pairs might blend. Some colors might push others aside completely. Just watch.
- If you like, you can drop the colors on thick in places and watch them interact. Or thin them with water and watch what happens.
Now play. You can't do it wrong. Put one color in one corner and the opposite color in the other corner. Pull them toward the center and watch what happens.

Thanks so very much for spending some time with this today. I hope you've used this meditation to relax and put some calm in your day. If you have a question, observation or photo you want to share, I'd love to hear from you!

Email me.