This mindful leaf drawing exercise is meant to motivate you to go outside, find a nice leaf and draw it.
Did you know that walking is very good for relaxing your mind and relieving stress?
When I go for a walk, I take my time and try to be in the moment. I use all my senses; smell the trees, listen to the birds, watch the ducks in the pond or a small flower in the shade of a tree.
A walk will get you away from your day-to-day stuff and give your mind some rest.
I thought it would be fun for you to experience this as well and combine this with a creative exercise. Especially, since all the colors are so beautiful this time of year.
Another thing that can help you focus, is to try new things. I decided to use my new soft pastels for this exercise. I have never worked with them before, but I thought ‘it’s all about the process, and experimenting is fun. It doesn’t have to be perfect.’
So grab your shoes and let’s start with this mindful leaf drawing exercise!
Please let me know if this exercise helped you relax, I’d love to know.
You can find a small video of this exercise on my Instagram @thecreativecooldown
Supplies used:
Pastelmat no. 2 (Clairefontaine), colored pencils (Faber-Castell polychromos), Toison d’or soft pastels (Koh-I-Noor).
Alternative supply suggestions:
For this exercise, you can use a regular pen or a pencil to draw your leaf. If you want to add color, use whatever you have, such as crayons, markers, watercolor. You can even use a pencil to color your leaf and just add various shades of grey.
Instructions
1. Put your coat and shoes on and take a walk outside, preferably in a park or forest or street with lots of trees. Focus on what you smell and take your time to notice little things, like a beautiful flower or a small bird that’s looking for food.
2. Look for a leaf that you like and that you would like to draw. Take it home with you.
3. Go back inside and grab a piece of paper. Put your leaf on top of the paper and trace the outlines.
4. Now it’s time to add color. Pick whatever supplies you have or what you would like to experiment with. I used my soft pastels for the first time. Study your leaf carefully and discover all its little details and colors. Start with the lightest color and then continue with a slightly darker one each time.
5. If you use soft pastels like me, use your fingers to blend your colors.
6. Now it’s time to draw some details. I drew the larger details with my pastels, but I used colored pencils for the smaller ones.
7. Maybe add some little touch-ups here and there and you’re done with this mindful leaf drawing exercise.
If you liked this exercise, you might like my Simple ladybug with gouache as well.
