Paint with me: Whimsical figurative art journal page

Finger painting, organic etching, and luscious layers!

I recently started reading Carl Jung’s biography Memories, Dreams, Reflections, and was struck by how vividly Jung remembers various episodes from his early childhood — and not just incidents, but also his visceral feelings, bodily sensations, and dreams. In contrast, I only remember little fragments, unconnected and unrelated snippets from my early years.

Maybe that is because I haven’t sat down to reminiscence about my younger days; haven’t tried to mine my memories for stories. Perhaps that is what it takes to unlock the brain’s filing system — a conscious decision to look at and engage with the material that is hidden away in the dusty corners of our minds.

One memory that floated up while I was playing back this video was of a tiny little hand covered in paint, banging away on a large piece of paper. And while I cannot remember any more details of this particular memory {maybe more of it will come to the forefront if I pull on this thread}, I do remember how much fun I had with finger painting when I was a young one. My parents still have some of the cards that I made for them over the years on their birthdays — many of them are adorned with finger printed flowers in a riot of colors!

I think it’s those childhood memories that I tap into every time I finger paint in my art journals. In the painting I shared above, there’s a whole lot of finger painting that is hidden in the layers, and her hair is just a repeated print of my finger!

Gather a few of your favorite paints and some water soluble pencils {I used Inktense pencils}, and join me at the painty table as I show you how I created the piece pictured above. And get ready to get your fingers covered in paint!

Invite some color into your mailbox! Receive notes on creative living, pages from my art journal, and short process videos in your inbox every Friday.

This is a full-length, slightly sped-up video. Enjoy!

I hope you enjoyed watching my process, and that it inspired you to pick up your own paintbrushes and play in your art journal! I’d love to see your paintings if you’d like to share them with me — just hit reply to this email, DM me on Substack, or post them on Substack notes!

Enjoyed this video? Share it with your friends and invite them into our virtual studio. There’s space for all of us here! If you’re on the Substack app, consider restacking this post to Notes.

Do you have any childhood memories that are linked to some of the things that you enjoy doing as an adult? Tell me in the comments, or simply reply to this email. You can also hit the like button or restack to Substack Notes to let me know you enjoyed this post. xo