Simple Mountain Drawing for Busy Moms

Finding a few quiet moments as a mom can feel like a luxury, and when you do find them, it’s tempting to just collapse on the couch. But what if you could use that time to recharge your mind in a way that also feels fulfilling? Enter this simple mountain drawing exercise—perfect for when you need to slow down and take a creative breath.

The beauty of this exercise is in its simplicity and rhythm. Drawing mountain layers filled with wavy lines may not sound groundbreaking, but it’s the process that matters, not the final result. The repetitive movements help you settle into a calm, meditative state while encouraging mindfulness—just what we need as moms when the mental load feels like a mountain itself.

Why This Exercise Is Good for Your Mental Health:

This drawing technique might seem super simple—and that’s exactly the point. Sometimes, the simplest things can have the most powerful effects. Here’s why this exercise is a great mental break:

1. Repetitive Movements Calm the Mind
The act of drawing repetitive, wavy lines helps your brain settle. When you’re focused on the rhythmic movement of your hand, your mind can relax and escape the overwhelm of daily life for a few moments. It’s almost like a reset button.

2. Encourages Mindfulness
By paying attention to the details of each line and each layer of the mountain, you’re practicing mindfulness. You’re not thinking about the laundry, the emails, or what’s for dinner—you’re just focused on the present moment, line by line.

3. Helps Release Perfectionism
This exercise isn’t about creating a masterpiece; it’s about the process of creating. The mountains don’t need to look perfect, and your lines can be wobbly or uneven. In fact, that’s what makes them beautiful. Let go of the need for everything to be “just right” and enjoy the freedom of creating without pressure.

4. A Simple Way to Reconnect with Yourself
As moms, we’re always giving to others, and it’s easy to forget to give back to ourselves. Taking a few minutes to sit with a pen and paper, creating something for the sake of it, is a way to check in with yourself and recharge. It’s a small act of self-care that can go a long way.

Have fun with this simple mountain drawing! Please let me know if you’ve tried it; I would love to see it.

You can find a small video of this exercise on my Instagram @thecreativecooldown

Supplies used:

Bristol paper (BeCreativeShop), Alcohol markers (Ohuhu), fineliners (Ohuhu).

Alternative supply suggestions:

You can use any supplies you have: colored pencils, crayons, markers, watercolors, etc.

Instructions for this simple mountain drawing:

Step 1 – Draw the mountains

Start by drawing a series of simple mountains. Think of them like a bunch of layered hills.

They don’t have to be perfectly even or realistic—just let your hand move naturally to create those wavy, layered mountain shapes. Give each mountain several “layers”.

Step 2 – Fill with wavy lines

Here comes the relaxing part. Inside each mountain layer, start filling the section with vertical wavy lines. These don’t need to be perfect or evenly spaced.

The idea is to slow down and enjoy the repetitive motion of drawing the lines. Focus on how your hand moves and the rhythm of each stroke. You can draw the lines a bit more together in the layers of the mountains that are “closer” to create the illusion of depth.

Step 3 – Add color (optional)

If you’re feeling it, grab some markers or colored pencils and gently add color to the layers. You don’t need to fill the entire space. I chose to color just some vertical lines in each section, giving the piece a bit of life without over-complicating it.

Remember, this exercise is about relaxation, not perfection.