I took art classes once, for about a year. Other than that, I’m completely self-taught. The classes mostly covered art crafts and painting but not much drawing or sketching. It was a ton of fun, and I picked up some interesting skills and learned some fun techniques!
Some of the things I remember distinctly were the stamps that we learned how to make, painting patterns, and following a Bob Ross tutorial (let me know if you’d like me to do a post on any of these in the future!). But I think the most important thing I learned through those classes was to enjoy art.
My teacher is actually an art therapist, which means she helps people dealing with mental problems to work through their struggles through art—whether that be doodling, painting, knitting, or anything like that. I think her background in that area helped her imbue a love of art to us (or at least me) that went beyond sitting down to draw something.
To this day, I find relaxation in drawing and painting. It’s not at all like meditation, just a true joy that I find in letting my creative juices flow. When I’m stressed out, art usually helps me calm down and refocus, especially when I’m not drawing something super complicated! I particularly love painting landscapes and God’s many wonderful creations.
Recently, I’ve found the addition of a good audiobook a great way to calm down after a stressful day. I’ve been listening to James Herriot’s All Things Bright and Beautiful audiobooks on YouTube recently, and they are super fun! That way I can learn something while drawing, painting, or whatever I happen to be doing (this applies to other mindless activities, such as weeding, as well XD).
Even if art isn’t your hobby, you might find it relaxing to get out some pencils, pens, paints, etc. and just play around! What you draw or paint doesn’t have to be anything in particular, just have fun. 😀
When I was little (maybe 9 or so), I’d doodle in my schoolbooks when I finished my lessons (and before I finished *hides*). That helped me focus for some reason. I still doodle or draw when listening to lessons or sermons because it occupies my hands so that my mind can listen more easily. At least, that’s what I think happens. Either way, it helps me learn faster, even though it looks like I’m not paying attention . . . LOL!
Overall, I love to doodle and draw a lot, even if it’s just a smiley face on my mom’s day planner. It adds a little personality to stuff, in my opinion. And it’s fun to see her face when she finds random drawings in the borders! XD
What do you think of doodling? Do you doodle for fun? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!
Until next time, God bless and happy drawing 😀
~Janet
PS: Here are some of my recent doodles! Just some yummy food (at least, most of it looks yummy ;P)
The doodles are so cute!
Thanks! They were super fun to do 😀
I don’t doodle like you do, but I do some sort of abstract drawing often. It is, just like doodling, very relaxing. It really helps you to forget about all other things.
That’s so cool! I do some abstract as well, but I’m not super good at it XD (although, I guess that’s the point of abstract; there’s no wrong way to do it!) So true, art is very relaxing!
Sometimes a blank page is hard to start with. Having prompts is helpful for me or a visual to “copy”/draw from.
True! I forgot to mention that. A lot of times my drawings are based off prompts or general ideas. Sometimes I even draw based off something in the music or audiobook I’m listening to!