A Beginner’s Guide to Creating Colourful Therapeutic Drawings

Words Dr Alexis Nelson

Drawing allows us to express ourselves when words fail. When Dr Alexis went through depression, there was a time where she could not speak. “There was something holding me back, there was something that stopped me from speaking or explaining how I truly felt - I had to use another language to really communicate what I was feeling.” Drawing is a way to translate thoughts, emotions and reflections onto a piece of paper. It allows you to speak past the words you have learnt. You may not be sure where to start so here are some tips to learn how to freely reveal your thoughts no matter your skills level.

1. Get a Pen and Paper

It sounds so simple. But simplicity is key. You can buy the fancy art set and really go all out on the stationery (which I love doing by the way) but when it comes down to it, You do not need to be experienced to start drawing. You just need the simplest of tools to start digging out your real creativity.

2. Find a Place

When I started using drawing as a form of healing, I created a little space that I would go to to create. A nook in my bedroom, a bench I found on my evening walk. This carves out a time and space for you to draw.

3. Forget Perfection

Photo realism is a stunning branch of art. It incorporates extreme detail and is beautiful to look at. Depending on size it can take months to finish one piece. For those who want to take that stream of art, there are avenues to go from simple lines and shapes to beautiful scenes that are camera-like in execution. For now however - keep drawing lines and shapes. I used to make lots of maze-like drawings. And it wasn’t perfect but it was me. On a paper.

4. Shape-ify it

So now that you know lines and shapes. This is when it gets interesting. Many people like to make symmetrical intricate drawings that make kaleidoscope type precision. These drawings start from a central point and then are built upon in a circumferential manner until the whole page is filled. What you can also do when you start to feel confident is now look at pictures and try to emulate them. Simplify them into shapes. Into lines, circles, triangles and squares.

5. Choose your colours!

Colours are not just beautiful spectrums of light, they are tools. You can start to fill in your picture with just one or two colours. Choose what you like to use at first. Then start to use colours that you are less comfortable with. For days where it is difficult to choose, I used to assign colours to emotions. Why did I do this? Not because blue is sad and yellow Is happy. It allowed me to channel emotion into a physical energy on the paper. So no matter what I was feeling, the outcome is the same. Colour on paper.

6. Explore!

After a few weeks of drawing consistently you will start to notice certain patterns In your work! It is like your diary now. From here you can start to experiment with different mediums! Different paper. Different pens, markers and paint. So let's start making a diary! Drawing is a language.

Dr Alexis Nelson - Junior Doctor in Geriatric Medicine