BLISS BAIT

One of my favorite states of bliss is to be in what some refer to as a "creative trance" -- being so caught up in what you are doing that you totally lose track of time and your surroundings -- and one of the easiest ways to get there, it turns out, is by doodling.

Last night I watched one of the final videos for my Watercolor Playground class, in which we were instructed to divide a page of watercolor paper into sections of various sizes, and then just doodle away to our hearts content. The last video will be about how to come back and add color to this page, using all the different techniques we have learned so far.

It was already bedtime when I finished watching the video, but when I walked past my drawing table, I just couldn't resist pulling out a fresh piece of watercolor paper. "I'm just going to get it divided into sections tonight, and that's it -- ten or fifteen minutes tops!", I told myself. The one caveat that our instructor gave us was that we should use permanent pen, not pencil, and that we weren't to use any rulers or do any "planning." The object, you see, is to make your left brain let go of the reins, and allow the creative right brain to take over, which ain't gonna happen if you're busy planning and measuring!

Which is why, I suppose, the next time I glanced up, more than an hour had passed by, and half my spaces were already filled with doodles. But it was an hour of pure, unadulterated bliss, I tell you!