When I was in grad school learning how to be an art therapist, Kabat-Zinn’s mediation methods were introduced to me. As someone who identifies as non-spiritual, I liked that it made meditation more approachable. His methods made a connection with the breathing and thought exercises I was introduced to when I was very young. I knew they worked but something about it all felt a bit off. Anyway, a few years back I read McMindfulness and it basically slammed the idea of stripping the spirituality and ethics out of meditation to make it palatable to a Western market.

I could write a lot about McMindfulness and how it unlocked my brain for questioning a lot of the marketed mindfulness and how that related to art and art therapy.

This post is not about that. Instead, I want to focus on how en plein air, observational art, and other art forms are a form of mediation.

I have found as I make my little postcard sized en plein air images that I can’t be mentally anywhere but where I am. When I am observing and mixing paint and moving paint on those images, I am right there. My mind isn’t wandering around and thinking about work stuff. I’m looking and mixing and recording.

The more I practice these short sessions of art making the more quickly I find myself getting into flow state and the 30 minutes have flown by. Often when I realize I’m done with the image I look at the clock and almost 30 minutes have passed but it doesn’t feel like it.

The other times I feel like this are when I’m on my bike. When I ride my bike time disappears and I can’t be anywhere but on my bike and fully immersed in the moment.

Between art and cycling I’ve found that I can really see where my life is out of alignment with my ethics and values, both have helped me to set firm boundaries- no I will not work a weekend- unless there is a deal set for me getting time back in a way that directly benefits me.

When I make art (and exercise) I can directly feel my brain getting into alignment. Stress is reduced but not only because I’m doing “self care” but because I am aligning myself with my art, which I have previously identified as a serious and VERY deep value for me. Through making art I’m learning more about myself and the world around myself.

​My general plan for my art practice is that I make art on most days, but not all, because life must have balance. I use the walk and art making as a source of further art making on days when I cannot be outside due to weather or work. The practice is balanced because I cannot do everything. I have to make time for some things but I also must listen to my body.

I have learned that I do not like to rush in the morning. I sip a pour over coffee every morning, 10 ounces of damn fine coffee. I usually have my art kits ready to go in a tote. But some mornings I have slept well and I find it hard to get my shit together than get out the door in time to get a session in. On those days I just don’t. I sit down, maybe have another cup of coffee. But I don’t rush. Rushing undermines the practice.

One days when I get to the park and realize I’m running late, I set the timer for 20 minutes, or park closer to where I want to make art.

The goal is to make art not stress.

Anyway, about a month and a half into this reinvigoration of my art practice I’m seeing progress not only in my art but in mental health- specifically my stress is being reduced and I feel more connected to the world.

A further exploration here might be to look at how direct observation of the world can lead to feelings of connection with that world/place.

Anyway. I’ve made more videos of myself painting at the park.

https://youtu.be/codHesG48uk

*Part of the McMindfulness book is about how to truly get mindful, you have to consider the ethics of a situation. You can’t be at peace if your ethics (values) are out of whack. To get truly mindful and out of stress you have to address the ethical sources of your stress- and how when you are behaving and doing things that are out of line with your personal ethics and values you can’t really reduce your stress with just mindfulness exercises alone. You can’t reduce your suffering without addressing the source. <– Mindblowing

When I was a young beginner artist there were 3 classifications for watercolors and pretty much all other paints- children’s, student or classroom, and professional. Professional were the best. Student was generally close to professional grade with more filler and less pigment. Children’s was well, a crapshoot of non-toxic pigments and fillers. Then came the addition of craft paint- usually acrylic and made with fillers and UV resistance (sometimes) and created to be affordable.

Recently I’ve been thinking about this and mentally adding additional layers to this hierarchy.

I think that the professional level has stayed the same. Pro level is pro level- high quality pigmentation, labeling of MOST of that pigmentation, and an expectation of certain behaviors of that paint. In the case of watercolors: re-wettability, a certain amount of movement on the page, and an understanding of how that color will behave when mixed with other colors.

Children’s colors have also stayed the same.

It’s the middle level that I think has fragmented more than anything else. Student grade was often a heading where you would pick up a color that maybe you didn’t expect to use all that often but needed it for a specific project. It’d be the same color but with a little more filler and less punch than the professional version. Now we have a whole new level of interest in the affordable version of professional colors. We’ve got Arrtx, Lightwish, Funto, Grabie and Paul Rubens entering the field with colors that are vibrant and labeled with pigment information, but also not always.

As well as incredibly aggressive marketing, but that is a discussion for later.

There are a number of brands that “white label” their products from the same factory (Superior) in China. (The Frugal Crafter Lindsay Weirich talks about this often.) I’ve seen a number of videos where the review makes note that the labeled pigment information doesn’t seem accurate because a pigment isn’t granulating or mixing as it should. OR the paints are labeled non-toxic but the label on the paints are for a known toxic pigment. (I wish I could link to the video where I saw this, but I can’t remember. It was either TheFrugalCrafter or The Mind of Watercolor or Liz Chaderton.) When the reviewer reached out, the seller was able to say that no it wasn’t the toxic pigment and it was mislabeled.

A new label that I’ve created in my head is “Adult Coloring Book.” This label is for paints that are somewhere between professional and student grade and have a million convenience colors in their package. I’m specifically thinking of the viral watercolor, marker, and colored pencil sets with particularly aggressive marketing. I’ll use Grabie as an example. They went viral a few years back with a metal tin loaded up with 100+ colors, a pencil, water brush and brush bundle that was affordably priced. The initial reviews focused on the intensity of the color and how well they rewet. One of my interns had been gifted with a set and used it primarily for adult coloring books.

None of the reviews I saw focused on how well they did or did not mix, because they focused on the use of the colors for pattern making, coloring books, and other styles where mixing colors wasn’t needed nor wanted. It wasn’t until the Grabie kits got into the hands of actual artists where the reviews started to discuss the mixing of the pigments. Those reviews were okay.

I myself got my hands on the Grabie 12 color mini watercolor set and I have been remarkably impressed. The colors respond mostly as expected but there are a few colors that aren’t right. The cerulean blue doesn’t granulate and is a shade too dark. It’s much more of a peacock or tropical blue than cerulean. It does mix with raw and burnt sienna to make a nice gray, so it’s probably a Pthalo or Ultramarine blue mix.

I was actually really impressed by the Grabie paints- they rewet REALLY well and were decently pigmented for the price. The price was incredibly affordable especially when compared to other brands that are in the student spectrum.

Another example, I picked up a few seconds from The Art of Soil, another Instagram seller of handmade paint. There’s a lot to like with their colors- made from soil and earth based pigments. Except when they aren’t. And you don’t really know when they aren’t because they don’t disclose their pigment information except to say that the pigment is commercially available. They rewet well and work fine. They are only available in full sets, which makes them an expensive choice. There was a texture issue in some of the paint that I just can’t work with. It was both chalky and paste-y. It just wasn’t for me.

To me both Grabie and The Art of Soil paints sit somewhere in that student grade realm of good enough for students but also not quite where I’d feel comfortable making art to sell from them. I believe these paints are designed with a specific consumer in mind- someone who likes art, is looking for a good deal (who isn’t) and isn’t planning to create art for sale. Maybe these consumers are focused on making patterns in their sketchbooks, making art journals, or adult coloring books. These consumers also tend to have a bit more spending money for art materials- it’s less of a hobby and more relaxation for them. 

​Anyway, I think that the aggressive marketing means that a lot of people who are outside of their target audience get their advertisements. Which I think leads to disappointment and frustration towards the materials.

Aggressive marketing isn’t a new thing, but it is now heavily prevalent in the art and craft world. Several creative creators (SketchesNScrubs, Frugal Crafter, and others) have called out several brands- Lightwish, Arrtx, Ohuhu, and Paul Rubens for being overly aggressive in their timelines and required talking points for free product. From various videos I’ve watched, the aggressive tactics seem to get even more, aggro, when it’s a sponsored post.

I think what all these new companies want is to sell their products at the prosumer level- that is to people who expect and want pro level of material experience but with a slightly lower price point than true pro materials. I think this could be accomplished without the aggressive marketing and through honest labeling. If a product is quality it will stand up to good honest and thorough reviews and it doesn’t need the company harassing content creators into crunch timelines for reviews. Giving creative creators crunch and hard line marketing deadlines means the creators end up making videos that praise the product and damn the company. Which in the long run ends up lessening sales because no one wants to support a company that their favorite creator says treated them badly.

I am pretty vocal IRL that I’m Anti- AI, specifically generative AI from the mass learning model. The type that has been fed stolen content to teach it how to respond. I don’t think AI is creative or even a creative tool when it’s source is stolen work and words.

I’m pro limited models- the closed style of AI that doctor’s offices use and small individual AI. Personally I’d like to build my own LLM (limited learning model) from my own writing and add in editing rules. I would then use this to edit my own writing for clarity and also grammar.

Which to be completely honest, is the ONLY way I use AI currently. I use it to edit emails and writing for work for grammar and clarity. Occasionally I’ll ask it to soften my tone. (I have been told repeatedly that my matter of fact and very direct emails are received as aggressive. I have many thoughts on this but that’s not for this pot.) But I think I could use my own work to do this.

I know that my blog has already been scanned and used by ChatGPT to train it and for it to answer questions. I know this because it gives references to my blog.

So to be clear- I am against generative AI when it is from a mass language model. At this point I’m not sure that there are ANY MLM that aren’t generated and trained on stolen content. As a creative creator of content, I can’t ethically get behind that sort of use. It feels icky to have your work stolen and used. How can I perpetuate that feeling for others? I cannot.

Further as a therapist, I will NEVER enter a client’s health info into a MLM AI. It’s not ethical. I also don’t believe it is ethical to ask ChatGPT to create treatment plans based off a client’s health info EVEN if their private health info is not detailed. It is not hard to figure out WHO a client is with very very slim information.

I could rant about this for ages. But I think AI is dumbing down our society, it’s reducing human creativity, and it’s bad for humanity.

I could also go on and on and on about the effects of AI on the environment but this isn’t the place for it. But let’s just say, I don’t like it.

Also, I hate that it’s getting shoved down my throat on my phone, my personal laptop, tablet, eReader (working on getting that issues solved) and my work tools. I REALLY REALLY wish I could block it every where. My phone really wants me to use it. Despite my best efforts, it keeps popping up. (Yes I’ve shut it off. I’ve turned off my phone’s special double clicky button thing, but it keeps getting turned back on.)

I have been challenging myself to work with more expressive marks- really scribbling the colors in rather than careful application of watercolor pencils and neocolor 2. Wide brushes and generally looser marks. The marks are precise but also loose. It’s hard to explain.

One of the ways that I’m exploring the looser marks is to use materials that are bigger. Case in point these iCrayon water soluble mega crayon things. They are big. They are messy and most of all, they are fun.

I’m also using thicker unsharpened pencils.

My brush lately has been the wide flat water brush.

Working on postcards with those iCrayon mega crayon things? Pretty much impossible, they can cover an entire care in one swipe, which might be a fun thing to play with, but today I used a 9×12 inch strathmore mixed media sketchbook, which still felt too small for these mega crayons.

I plan on doing a bit more with these crayons, but also combining them with some of the water soluble charcoals I have.

Anyway, I had a lot of fun being loose and spontanious. I really liked how the loose marks really showed up in the finished images.

For a long time I did not think I had an art practice. I was also resistant to the idea of creating a practice. I had to learn HOW to create an art practice on my own.

I wasted a lot of time being resistant.

So let’s talk about what an art practice is.

It is the process and practice of making a finished piece of art, from start to finish. The process and practice vary for every artist and each person has a different method. What follows is mine. This starts at the initial learning of materials, progresses to inspiration and gathering of information, the shifts into planning and more creating, and finally the creation of a finished piece.

One of my undergraduate professors felt that you needed to create swatch cards of every color of paint, as well as the colors they could possibly mix with every other color you owned. The cards also needed to be noted with the colors used. While I find this an occasionally useful exercise, I also find it incredibly tedious. Also, at the time expensive. He wanted all of our expensive designer gouache colors swatched out on 140lb watercolor paper! I have since done this exercise with my watercolors but on the finest cheapest 3×5 index cards.

I prefer to swatch like this:

or like this:

It’s not every color I own, but it is every color in my pochade box and mini palettes!

The gathering information and inspiration phase for me includes bike rides, hikes, and en plein air painting and drawing. During these times outside I gather sketches and also photographs. 

When I return to the studio I start the process of further exploring the scene. I simplify some areas, add details in others. I make tone and value studies and play with color. Some of this is done with markers or pencils or even more watercolors. I really like to use layers of ink, specifically my own homemade walnut ink. I add in layers of watercolor or inktense pencil to create interesting images.

The final step for me is to create a print. I haven’t yet made a print of these scene. BUT some notes:

the trees are too central in all these B+W sketches. I think I want them moved to the right more so that the tangle of vines is prominent. Also I want the big rock visible.

The texture of the vines is more fine in person but that doesn’t read well in these images. Sandpaper might give me a good tangle look.

The areas of light and dark are good. When the trees are shifted to the right more, the tangle of vines will be hazy but have darkness behind. The trees on the left are darker.

The whole scene feels more wild than it is. This is a well cared for park, but this section is not so well cared for. The city just removed a bunch of old buildings and I’m interested in what they do with the camp area, it would be nice if the park were expanded*.

I’m going to keep going with the exploration of this area, and I’m interested in the changes as they occur.

*It looks like they are moving the Pioneer Village to the spot. I’m not sure what that means for the area, but I expect it will mean more tourist traffic. I image the abutting neighbors are not excited though I suspect that they are happy that it’s a little safer than the dilapidated buildings that were there.

I set out to reinvigorate my art process and the habit of regularly, nearly daily, drawing and making art outside. I have been successful. I’m not going out every day but nearly every day of the week where it is not raining, and mostly, not on weekends. In typical Massachusetts weather patterns weekends have been pretty gray and rainy for me.

Anyway, I leave for work about an hour early and head to the beach. I’m there with such regularity I’m calling it an unofficial Artist-in-Residency. I’m specifically visiting Dead Horse Beach which is one of the beaches at Salem Willows. It’s a beach that is well used over the summer particularly because it is in a cover that is sheltered and doesn’t seem to get any rip tides. It’s rocky and not popular with tourists. Anyway, I love it. I’ve been visiting this beach every summer for 25 years.

The view toward the river and ocean from the beach isn’t all that scenic but when you turn back toward the land, the rocks and trees are pretty cool. That’s what I’ve been focused on.

This process is collecting inspiration and information for future pieces. I’m making art and soaking in the feeling of the place, and being totally immersed in the moment.

Is en plein art (Art Outside) a form of mediation? I think so.

I also take a lot of photos. Every spot I visit I take a bunch of pictures. I observe and photograph.

After this initial phase I start the next phase- sketches and drawings from the sketches and photographs. (More on that in another post)

These initial images have a spontaneity that I really enjoy. There is something immediate and alive about them.  Anyway, enjoy these images.

For the most part, I attempted to make my art outside kits from things I already had on hand. With one exception, I bought an Art Tool Kit Demi Palette. Empty of course. But I added a selection of  pans to accompany it.

When it arrived I realized it is a mini version of a business card holder. If you are of an age to have been around business people in the 90s and early 2000s, you know the kind of card case I mean. Thin aluminum that held a stack of 12 or so cards secure. I read a review where a woman confidently ranted that the ATK palettes were the same as thrifted cigarette cases*. I can confidently refute this.

Anyway, you can get a card case on amazon still for not too much money. Or even AliExpress for less if you want to wait.

You’ll have to add some peel and stick magnetic sheet to the inside to get it to work as a palette. And you’ll have to buy some pans. Plus cover the lid with some white paint or plastic. BUT it’s doable. The DIY approach has an issue- the lid does NOT have edges, so paint has a tendency to flow off of it. There are solutions- a bead of hot glue around the edges. Heck if you don’t want to get sheets of magnetic stuff, you can hot glue the pans down.

Of you can go ahead and order a knock off of the current ATK and TN version of this palette. You can also get them in stainless steel.

The knock offs have some issues. The magnetic sheet inside is weak. The pans slide around in mine a lot. I solved this by adding in a magnetic sheet from a reminder magnet that my health insurance sent me. But I also have some sheet magnets that worked pretty well at adding some oomph to the ability of the magnets to hold things in place.

My favorite travel palette of all time is this one, minus the crappy little trays they include for paint. I use my own pans hot glued in place. I spray painted the inside of the lid white for a deep mixing well. It’s awesome. The downside is that it’s plastic. The ATK eliminates almost all plastic in their design. I like this a lot. All plastic eventually breaks down, and I like the ATK pans much more than I expected, especially the medium square size. The narrower size is a bit too skinny for me to get my brush into easily and not slop it everywhere. BUT that square size is about perfect.

Another good point of the ATK and it’s clones is that it is modular. The little pans are inexpensive and can be easily swapped out. Traditional pans are easily swapped out. Remember hot glue can be removed with a flood of isopropyl alcohol. (I think even vodka works.) The slim package and modular pans really are selling points.

*There are vintage cigarette holders that are very similar to the ATK palette in size, but they are much thicker and a bit longer. You can of course make a palette out of one but you can also go to the dollar store and get a makeup palette and wash out the makeup and use that. Or just, you know, use a mint tin.

When I started to create the frictionless en plein air grab and go kits the big goal was to lighten my EDC load. My back pack was over filled and HEAVY. I went through my backpack and removed unused items. I had 2 EDC sets of silverware, which, realistically I could leave at work. But I carry them anyway. I now only carry one. I now only carry one charger and cable for my tablet and laptop. I never need them at the same time. I digress.

I put the en plein air kit into my back pack and put my small sketchbook in with it. Then added the Neocolor 1 and 2 pouch.

Then I loaded up a tote with a few other things.

Y’all, this is my set up when I got to the beach.

That tote has my bigger sketchbook, water soluble graphite crayons, the inktense kit, water, a journal, and a water cup. The black thing in the middle of the picture is a stool and then my now lighter backpack.

So the goal of lightening my backpack has happened BUT I am now carrying a tote of additional supplies. LOL

Despite this I have now gone out twice this week to sketch at various parks I visited a lot last year. I have also decided to start to take more pictures both with my cell phone and my toy cameras. Things I might want to paint and draw in the winter. I ran out of options this past winter and it hit me hard that I wasn’t drawing or painting.

I’ve made a few youtube videos of the process. It’s a learning process to record with new equipment. The first one I did used a hat POV and that won’t happen again. I used a chest mount for the most recent video. It’s much better.

Over the years I’ve mentored quite a few art therapists and teaching artists. One piece of advice I give all of them, but also struggle to follow myself, is to maintain an art practice. Life gets busy, work gets busy and teaching artists and art therapists stop making their own art. We all know that we love making art and that making art is actually GOOD FOR US, but yet, we let our own need to make art slide.

It’s a recipe for disaster.

It’s a recipe for burnout.

But what does “art practice” mean?

An art practice is a creative journey of being creative and making art. The journey from idea to finished piece is how I usually understand it. The journey is never a single straight line. It meanders as we discover new materials and take in new sights. Many of the young people I work with (and for a long time I thought this way) think that it’s just about a finished art piece. The phrase art practice encompasses everything the artist (or art dabbler, art journaler, I’m using artist in the royal way of meaning anyone who makes art) does on their journey of creation. From going on photo walks, en pein air studies, going to the museum, to prepping and priming canvases and finally selecting materials.

It’s all part of the practice. Practice is a process.

I’ve realized that as I’ve moved through a fallow period that I was still feeding the creative side of myself with instructional videos, reading about creativity, and working on stuff at ye old day jobbie job.

​Currently my practice is: photo or en plein air, sketches and sketches, then print or watercolor or pastel painting. What is yours?