In this mindful branches and leaves exercise, we’ll create branches and leaves in an almost meditative manner. Perfect to help you relax or relieve some stress.
It’s hard to be in the moment. There’s so much on your mind; work-related stuff, grocery lists, picking your kids up from school, doing laundry, etc. It’s difficult to forget all that for a while and not think about the next task you have to do.
In this exercise, I’ll try to get you out of your head for a while and help you focus on the present moment. Just enjoying the now for a bit.
We’ll create leaves by pressing our marker or paintbrush down on our paper. All the while focusing on where to place the tip. The repetitive motion of creating those leaves combined with concentrating on the placement of your marker or brush will get you in an almost meditative rhythm. You’ll be so absorbed that you will only focus on this exercise. Everything else in your mind quietens down for a while.
I hope you have some well-deserved creative me-time with this exercise!
Have fun with this mindful branches and leaves exercise! Please let me know if you’ve tried this one, I would love to see it.
You can find a small video of this exercise on my Instagram @thecreativecooldown
Supplies used:
Bristol paper 300gr (Hahnemuhle), alcohol makers (Ohuhu), sepia fineliner 0.5 (Winsor & Newton), washi tape.
Alternative supply suggestions:
You can use any material with a tip that you can press down on your paper—for example, a rounded paintbrush, a brush pen, or markers.
Instructions:
Step 1
Before you start, slowly breathe in and out a few times to clear your head. If you like, you can add washi tape around the borders to create a frame around your drawing.
Grab a pen or pencil and start drawing your branches. Start with the main one and branch off in different directions. Let your pen flow across the paper. You can just draw some freeform lines. As no tree is the same, it doesn’t really matter where your lines branch off or if they’re straight or wobbly. Just see what comes out.
Step 2
Now, it’s time to add some leaves. Grab a marker or a brush and angle it in a way that the tip is facing your branch. Slowly press it down onto your paper. You now have created your first leaf. Turn your marker and point your tip to the opposite side of your branch. Press down again. Now you’ve created 2 leaves which create a sort of heart-like shape. Continue adding more leaves this way to your branch. Choose colors that calm you or give you a nice feeling. If you want to use multiple colors, leave a small space between the leaves.
When you’re adding these leaves you’ll get into a nice and relaxing rhythm. Nothing matters at this moment besides adding the leaves and concentrating on whether your tip is facing your branch. That’s why it’s advisable not to switch colors too often as it might break this routine and you want to be as much in the moment as possible.
Step 3
If you like you can pick a color with a slightly darker shade than your first one and add some darker leaves between the ones from step 2. Create them in the same way as in step 2. Try to find that almost meditative rhythm again.
Step 4
Continue until all your branches have leaves. Always try to find that nice and relaxing rhythm. Go slow and just enjoy being in the moment.
Slowly remove your washi tape (if you used any). Keep it parallel to your paper when you remove it.
Now this mindful branches and leaves exercise is done! I hope you had fun.
If you liked this exercise, you might like my mindful butterfly exercise as well.