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#HERSTORY | 41 #HERSTORY | 41 1 Working with watercolors is as easy as you remember. Simply wet your brush, swirl it in the color of your choice, and paint. The more water you use, the lighter your color. The less water, the darker your color. Remember to rinse out your brush in between colors. You can wipe your brush on a piece of paper towel to make sure it is clean. 2 Now paint! Fill your piece of paper with colors and patterns. Don't worry about whether the colors complement each other or if you overlap brush strokes. Just let go and have fun. 3 Not sure how to start? Pick a simple shape like a rectangle and repeat it across the paper. Then add details. Color it in. Add small dots of another color. And then fill in the background. Voila! You can do the same thing with simple patterns like stripes, spirals and polka dots. 4 Another way to jump start your painting is to listen to music. Make your painting a reaction to what you are hearing. Quick music can mean short strokes of your brush. Make one long twisty line that moves up when the music gets higher, and down when it gets lower. If a song has a repeating chorus or motif, every time you hear it, paint with the same color. Or pick a shape to represent the drum beat or bass line. Paint it along with the rhythm you hear. 5 Once you have finished painting, make sure your paper is completely dry. A hair dryer can help speed along that process. Or simple leave them to dry and come back later. Have a painting you really don't like? Don't throw it out! Designs that are not your favorite often look amazing when cut up for collage. 6 Now it is collage time! Use your scissors to cut out basic shapes from your paintings. You can go free form and just cut, or draw them out first. If you want each shape to be exactly the same, find something handy to trace, like the end of your glue stick for a small circle. Arrange them on your cardboard in a pattern you like, and glue them with your glue stick. You can go realistic and make a flower or a heart. Or go minimalist and make a grid of repeating simple shapes. Or just cover the whole background with strips of different widths. Try to alternate pieces cut from different paintings, but there really are no rules. Do what you like! This technique is also a great way to make custom cards to send to friends and loved ones.