Creative Prompt: What Do You See?
Drop watercolor onto wet paper and see what shapes appear — name what you find.
There’s something magical about watching color bloom on wet paper. It moves and spreads in ways you can’t control — like tiny acts of wonder happening right before your eyes.
This kind of play invites us to release control and simply notice.
You don’t have to plan, sketch, or know what you’re making. Just wet your paper with clean water, pick up a brush loaded with color, and let a few drops fall.
Watch them travel. Watch them meet and merge and soften into each other.
Then pause. Tilt your page. Look closely. What do you see?
Maybe a mountain. Or a bird. A doorway. A storm. Or something you can’t name, but it stirs something in you.
This is the quiet invitation of contemplative play: to look again, to name what you notice, and to remember that beauty often arrives unplanned.
Use watercolor paper or thick cardstock.
Wet the surface with clean water (a big brush works best).
Load your brush with color and let a few drops fall onto the wet paper.
Watch how they move. Don’t force them.
When the paint settles, pause and notice what shapes you see.
If you’d like, outline or add details to what you discover — or simply leave it as it is.
No Paint? Try This Instead
If you’re using colored pencils or crayons, download the coloring page and color in random shapes or overlapping patches. Let them meet and blend naturally. Then step back and look for what might be hiding in your drawing. You can outline what you find or add gentle shading around it to make it stand out.
You’ll be surprised how often your hand knows what it’s doing long before your mind does.
Wondering Questions
I wonder what happens when you let the paint move on its own?
I wonder what you’ll see when you look slowly?
I wonder how it feels to notice something appear that you didn’t plan?
I wonder if God ever works this way in our lives, letting something take shape we couldn’t have drawn ourselves?
Kid-Friendly Version
Grab your paints (or crayons if you like).
Wet your paper a little, then drop color onto it. Watch how the colors spread and mix, they’ll make surprises all on their own!
When it dries a bit, look closely. What do you see hiding in your paint? A fish? A cloud? A dragon? A slice of pizza? (You never know!) You can outline what you find or make up a story about it.
This kind of art doesn’t have to be anything; it’s about seeing what shows up.
If you feel comfortable, I’d love to see what you create. When I share these prompts, I’ll always try to share what I’ve made too. Tag me on Instagram or comment below with a photo or reflection.