Draw This: Watercolor Waves

Waves of mercy, waves of grace. Everywhere I look, I see Your face. -David Ruis

My art students love to draw, and lately I've been inspired to find simple, soothing, repetitious patterns that satisfy their doodle-driven desires. And when I came across this minimalist wave design, I knew I'd hit the jackpot.

I admired the rock and rolling curves, carefully echoed in one line after another. 

I noticed the deceptively complex composition created by the layers of waves.

I appreciated the sense of depth that the waves create.

I could not wait to paint my black and white page over in the blues, greens and deep purples of nature's moody ocean color palette. 

And from the very start, I had a special purpose in mind for my finished product.

In my life as a Christian, each day is a new beginning. Even though I mess up and make mistakes every single day, God forgives me and washes me clean for a fresh start every morning. 

This beautiful symbol of water springs from the tradition of Christian baptism, and I love to remind myself and others of this amazing gift of "living wet." I keep a small paperboard box of clear glass bits - that I imagine to look somewhat like big drops of water - to share with my family, friends, and church mates, from time to time. 

^ My seascape seemed the perfect covering for my plain box of baptismal bits. So as soon as the watercolor waves were dry, I rounded up a few supplies, and got to work

^ Forget about it, Mod Podge. You always dry sticky and weird. I'd much rather use Elmer's Glue diluted 50/50 with water. 

^ Measure twice, cut once. Cutting up the art work is the trickiest part of the whole project. But since I refused to break out a ruler, I guess I should say Eyeball twice, cut once.

^ This phase of the project looks like a crazy origami/cut-and-paste mash-up, but I didn't let it bother me. Just fold here, tuck there, and dab on lots of glue. 

^ Once the glue dried, I sprayed on a coat of clear gloss finish and painted the inside blue-green. I hate to say it, but Martha Stewart's acrylic paints really are the best. Darn you, Martha, for being such a DIY genius.

^ Using what I had on hand, I MacGyvered a little handle with a scrap of ribbon and a wooden bead.



^ Ta-daaa! My seascape drawing has now been transformed into a wonderful, wavy, water-filled box. Welcome to the three-dimensional world!

* * * * *

Drawing is contagious - if you've caught the bug, try these posts for more ideas:

Draw This: Line Tornadoes

Draw This: Valentine Watercolors

Draw This: The Name Game

Draw This: Spring Flowers