DAY 2: SPREADING MY WINGS

Welcome to Day 2!

Let’s continue celebrating your commitment of ‘spreading your wings’ by painting a butterfly. I painted this butterfly over a decade ago as a way to honor my own expansion. It was a fun painting in the style of a pencil drawing that sold via a fun and playful online auction I hosted.

I always smile when I see butterflies. When you’re painting this, imagine you’re tapping into the ease and joy of the butterfly. The way it extends its wings and delightfully flies with such ease and joy.

The Painting Practice

Remember to turn off your phone notifications before you start.

  1. Draw a square  on your paper. This will be the size of your painting.
  2. While looking at your reference photo as your inspiration, do a simple outline of the butterfly on your paper. Just a rough sketch will do.
    • Start with the outline of the left wing.
    • Then the body of the butterfly.
    • Now move on to the right wing.
    • Add any embellishments (lines) on the wings and body.
    • Add the tentacles.
  3. Choose your colors: I was inspired to paint this as if it was a pencil drawing. I encourage you to fill this adorable butterfly with all the colors you like instead. Remember how gorgeously unrealistic some butterfly wings are? Just go for it. Add polka dots if you like.
  4. Grab some water and your brushes, and don’t forget a towel to clean off your wet brush. Clean your brush between new blends or switching colors. Add some darker colors to create depth and add white or lighter colors for some added shine
  5. Now, set a gentle timer* and paint for 20 minutes for some meditative joy and playful painting. Let’s have some fun.
  6. Don’t forget to sign your art work. Claim your creativity and honor your journey of showing up for yourself.

*If setting a timer is making you feel stressed, don’t set one. The 20 minutes is a way to focus on play, not creating a finished piece. The goal is to tap into creative joy for a few minutes that is doable for everyone at any skill level. If you feel called to continue painting past 20 minutes, please do so.

SHARE YOUR CREATION:

Take a photo of your finished challenge and share it on social media (tag #studioeriksdotter so I can see it), and tell me: How did this challenge feel? Can you resonate with the sentiment of this tulip? What colors did you choose and why? Let me know when you share your photo.