Start your watercolor practice with circles
The circle is the ideal, simple shape to begin your painting practice.
Get ready to embrace the whimsical + playful nature of the circle. A shape that allows you to experience joy + creativity while growing your watercolor painting skills.
As the most approachable shape, circles intuitively feel safe, making it a great shape to paint when you just don’t know what to paint or when you’re looking to swatch some colors.
It’s also fabulously fun for just getting rid of the white page. In fact, it is the first layer of many of my own paintings because it’s curved shape + organic nature lends itself to a variety of compositions.
A fun way to practice watercolor
Painting circles is a wonderful + creative way to practice watercolor. This practice not only enhances your skills but also encourages you to experiment + discover new possibilities within the art form.
Painting circles helps you:
Practice controlling the consistency of your paint + the amount of water you use
Focus on brush pressure + movement
Refine your skills
Build confidence in your watercolor abilities
Experiment with different techniques such as layering colors + painting into wet areas
Explore a variety of compositions
Rediscover your playful side
The circle's natural playfulness adds an irresistible charm as you explore watercolor painting. In Ingrid Fetelle Lee’s book Joyful, she identifies 10 aesthetics of joy. It seems appropriate that Lee connects the Play aesthetics with the circle.
“Play... promotes flexible thinking and problem-solving, which increase our resilience and help us adapt to change. When we play, our awareness of time diminishes and our self-consciousness fades.”
Absolutely the perfect setup for diving into the magical world of watercolors! When you add in those curvy strokes, the ones that paint circles + unlock those flexible thinking pathways, get ready for a surge of creativity! 🎨✨
Get ready to harness the natural playfulness of the circle, experiencing fun + joy while you paint.
Engaging in the art of painting circles opens up a gateway to reconnect with the core aspects of our being—playfulness, creativity + joy—elements we frequently overlook embracing in our lives. By initiating your watercolor practice with a simple circle, a shape synonymous with play, your practice becomes a vessel for feeling grounded, calm + present, all while ensuring your own needs are being tended to in a more fun + meaningful way.
TRY IT: Start by painting the circle shape, then using circulatory brush strokes, fill the shape in with paint.
Compositions to try:
Scatter the circles across the paper or paint in a grid.
Overlapping circles gives you an opportunity to see how your paint colors interact when you conjoin circles.
Don’t forget to try including outlines, or unfilled circle shapes, in your composition for contrast.
Experiment with scale. Try circles of different sizes all mixed together for an abundant feeling
Perfect or wonderfully irregular
Be loose with your definition of circle. If you're just starting out, your circles might lean towards the more playful + quirky side. Guess what? That's totally fine!
Make your circles as perfect or as irregular as you want or are able.
You’ll develop muscle memory the more you paint this simple shape. Don’t be too hard on yourself if your circle is not mathematically correct. Your circles can be blobs of magical watercolor, too. That’s the beauty of creating with your hands.
Favorite Supplies: Handmade watercolor paint obsession
Ready for an upgrade? Discover new + beautiful watercolor paints to elevate your watercolor painting practice.
Now try doodling!
Your resulting paintings are not just beautiful artworks but also perfect opportunities to add fun, creative doodles that bring an extra touch of whimsy + joy to your creations.
The doodles have a magical way of turning a disappointing painting into a shining masterpiece. By doodling over your watercolor paintings, you can enhance the colors + shapes, bringing interest + harmony to your artwork.
You can even expand upon your circle composition by layering other shapes on top. Consider flowers, rainbows + other geometric shapes to add whimsy + visual interest.
Spark your creativity
Download my Doodle Inspiration Guide for a quick reference of shapes + designs to add to your paintings.
Self-care with a sense of mindfulness
The playful circle sets the ideal conditions for exploring watercolor. Starting with a simple circle shape—a universal cue for play—sets the stage for out-of-the-box thinking + creativity, empowering you to boost your confidence in watercolor painting + explore a variety of painting techniques with playful curiosity.
Unleash your inner artist by blending modern watercolor methods with playful doodling. This unique combination will help you attend to your needs in a deeper + more satisfying manner, all while immersing yourself in a fun + purposeful artistic ritual that sparks joy within you.
Don’t forget to pin for later 👇🏼
Follow my “Watercolor Ideas” Pinterest board for more ideas. Then create a “Watercolor Ideas’ board for yourself + pin this post so you can easily find it the next time you need to reference it.
Break out of the rigid framework of our world + bend to the fluid nature of watercolor circles.
Hiya! I’m Lexis, the author of this blog.
Denver artist + mama + color-loving doodler of Lexisworks.
If you’re here because you’re searching for ways to cultivate your watercolor practice + you’re looking for more guidance, I’m truly glad you’re here because I’m here to help.
