Doodling

Doodles. The wandering and ramblings, the whispers of the inner life. And at the same time doodling doesn’t have to mean anything. It can simply be a pleasant activity to decrease stress and have a little fun.

Here is a quick, easy tutorial of how I do these.

Supplies: blank pieces of paper, sketchbook if it calls to you, an inexpensive gel pen, medium weight or heavy weight.

First, I set an intention which is to have play time. And part of this intention is letting whatever happens spill across the pages without expectations using marks, scribbles and sometimes words. Sometimes I start by doodling on a blank sheet of printer paper with a gel pen and then I move to the sketch book. An interesting part of my creative practice is listing what I ate and drank during the day with no censoring.

Many times, the writing takes a turn after I have listed the foods from the day and some of the deeper thoughts bubble up. I do not hope for anything to be grand or to make sense of it. It’s an exercise in play, spontaneity, and letting go.

Sometimes, if I like the way the doodle turns out or want to explore the piece further, I’ll bring the sketch into Photoshop or any photo editing app adding color and possibly other images.

And here is the journal entry inside the doodle:

1 cup of coffee w/ cream, green tea, grapefruit, whole grain bread then at dinner it was Tilapia, pesto, cauliflower w/ white sauce, rice. Fresh pineapple, a slice of raisin bread.

So it was a good day bordering on a fine day. Productive.

Less stress and focusing on the things I love most.

Thick socks

Leaves turning

Smell of fall

Baking bread

Smiles

Kind eyes

Spiritual mishaps or happenings

Soft touch

My kids

Sound of children laughing

Sunsets

Morning coffee

A good friend

Music: Young Me Dreaming

Musician: Carl Storm