Painting is a great way to unwind and meditate. More and more therapists are promoting art and craft as a method of calming the mind. With everything going on these days, it wouldn’t be surprising if you constantly feel overwhelmed with an array of different feelings. It is very common to be suffering from stress, anxiety and restlessness now-a-days. To help you navigate stressful, confusing times, we have a suggestion: Try art meditation, a creative twist on one of the premier mindfulness techniques.
What is meditative painting?
Meditative painting is a great example of meditation art—the main goal is to clear your mind of everything except the paints, brushes, and paper in an effort to enter into a meditative flow.
When you paint from this place, it is less about techniques and more about letting go and just entering into the experience. One great way of painting while being in the flow is painting by numbers. These are guided paintings that do not require you to use your mind a lot when painting.
How do you meditate through art?
You may be wondering how you can combine these two practices. After all, isn’t the whole point of meditation to not do anything? Well, sort of. The art of meditation requires you to slow down, be present, and resist judging the thoughts that enter your brain. To meditate through art, you need to slow down and spill your thoughts on the canvas. Colors become your medium of expression.
Both meditation and art require you to focus on the present moment. Perhaps, when you sit down in front of your blank sheet of paper, you have an end goal in mind.
Painting as a method of checking on yourself
As you paint, it also helps to check in regularly with yourself. If you decide to take painting lessons or study others’ techniques, notice how you feel as you develop your own kind of artist. The artist in you expresses what your subconscious mind thinks and feels.
Observe what your reaction is to your artwork
What is your first impression? Does the artwork make you feel anything? Some people experience a feeling of serenity when they gaze upon a Buddha. Art can stir up plenty of other feelings too.
Learn painting as a method of mindfulness
Even if you do not know how to paint, many methods enable you to do so. Paint-by-numbers is in vogue these days. They have guided paintings and have color-coded canvases. It is the easiest way of practicing painting when you are not good with colors and paints. Simple-painting.com is a website where you can find beautiful designs of canvases that will immerse you in meditative painting.
