Welcome to SOUL COLOR
A ten-week watercolor painting course-book to cultivate mindfulness and creativity.
Soul Color is my richly illustrated course book that gently encourages you to paint more intuitively, trust your own inner creative process, and enjoy all of the ‘happy accidents’ and ‘wonderful failures’ that occur along the way.
You can order it from all good bookshops, on amazon, or direct from my publisher, Liminal 11.
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A WATERCOLOUR PAINTING COURSE THAT GOES HAND-IN-HAND WITH MINDFULNESS PRACTICE
“Soul Color is a ten-week watercolour painting course to cultivate mindfulness and creativity. This beautiful book will teach you how to enjoy watercolour painting as a contemplative practice for self-discovery.
Develop confidence to paint more intuitively, give yourself permission to enjoy the unexpected and make mistakes, and discover a new sense of reflective calm.
An art teacher with 20 years’ experience, Emma Burleigh shares her knowledge through workshops and courses. Her specialty is mindful watercolour helping others expand their skills as artists while also taking them on a peaceful journey within.
Soul Color isn’t a traditional ‘how to’ book. It is the outcome of several years of research, trial and error with students and friends who’ve come to Emma’s workshops and classes to explore this territory with her.” (From Liminal 11’s Press Release)
“I have never seen a book that offers both instruction in an art medium, in this case, watercolor, and thoughtful prompts for using the medium to know self, soul and imagination so successfully.”
Endorsement from Pat B Allen, Professor of Art and Consciousness at John F. Kennedy University, California, and author of ‘Art is a Spiritual Path’, and ‘Art is a Way of Knowing’.
A Full Review by Pat B Allen can be read at the bottom of this page.
Video/Audio:
If you’ve bought the book, you might like to watch/listen to these supporting video/audios on youtube
Video on how to mix your watercolor paints beautifully! In this video I discuss a few FAQs about mixing watercolor and then demonstrate how to mix both pans and tubes: click here
Guided Audio Meditation on “Body-Mapping”: This audio exercise was made to accompany “Body-Mapping”, a meditative drawing exercise to calm the mind and become aware of the energy in your body which can be found on page 42 of the book. You can do this exercise just by following along with this audio guide, however, if you don’t have the book: click here
I was delighted to receive this glowing endorsement from my long time artistic hero, Pat B. Allen, author of “Art is a Way Of Knowing”:
Thoughts on Soul Color by Emma Burleigh
By Pat B. Allen
The cover and book design of Soul Color instantly convey I have an extraordinary offering in my hands. I have never seen a book that offers both instruction in an art medium, in this case, watercolor, and thoughtful prompts for using the medium to know self, soul and imagination so successfully. Process and product are seamlessly joined in this beautiful book. Emma Burleigh has generously demonstrated her skill through the exquisite illustrations while giving us the clear and simple how-to directions to achieve our own authentic expression. The quality of the production means just looking, flipping through the pages is its own delight.
Reading the book and trying out the exercises is like having an ideal teacher move into my studio and share tips and secrets that most artists jealously guard. Glazes, for example, are a tricky technique that can often become overworked and reduce the vibrancy of a watercolor. Emma shares not just the basics of layering colors but shows us how she uses glazes in an intricate painting giving the reader something to aim for.
Body, mind, soul and spirit are all included, honored and gently instructed. Each aspect of what it means to be human and how each part of us contributes to our creativity gains the stage at different points.
The effortless flow back and forth of instruction in complicated topics like color theory, properties of mixed media that extend the range of watercolor techniques and deeply meaningful prompts for contemplation and self - exploration make Soul Color a unique offering. The bite-sized quotes, the focus on breath and body, observation in nature and observation of feelings, sensations, sound, negative space all bring the inner artist nourishment.
If you have a teenage child, friend or relative, give them this book, some good paper, brushes and paints and turn them loose to discover their inner artist. Art therapy clients who want to transition from therapy to an art practice for life, students considering any expressive art field, experienced artists who have gotten too good at one way of working, there is joy and learning, gems of inspiration, in this book.
The ten-week course offered here can easily be a ten-month class and could be repeated again and again. What a generous gift Emma Burleigh has given us, and what a perfect format the designers at Liminal 11 have created to make her many insights come alive with joy and beauty. Thank you all!
Pat B. Allen
https://www.patballen.com/
1/12/21
Pat B Allen is the founder of Studio Pardes, is Professor of Art and Consciousness at John F. Kennedy University, California, and is the author of ‘Art is a Spiritual Path’, and ‘Art is a Way of Knowing’.
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