Paint Your Word of the Year
At the beginning of a new year, many of us are looking for ways to stay inspired to focus on our goals. I know that lots of people have a love/hate relationship with resolutions, so here’s an alternative! One fun way to keep a clear and inspiring intention for the year is to choose a word that embodies the things you want to accomplish and the way you want to feel. I love using a “word of the year” to guide me as I embark on a new chapter.
Some examples of words I’ve used in the past are “growth”, “rest”, and “joy”. You’ll want to pick a word that resonates with you so that it can serve as a daily reminder of what you want to cultivate in your life. Painting your word of the year takes this idea a step further, turning it into a beautiful piece of art that you can display and be inspired by daily.
Ready to paint a beautiful and unique word of the year? Let’s dive in!
Supplies:
You can use whatever you have on hand for this, but I’ll be painting with acrylic paint on a piece of acrylic paper. I also chose to embellish my word with gold leaf though that’s not a requirement!
Acrylic paint
My favorite paint brand is Liquitex, but you can use anything you have on hand for this tutorial.
I’m using Turquoise Blue in this tutorial!
Paper or Canvas
I’ll be using a small piece of acrylic paper for this tutorial, but you can use whatever you like. Mixed media paper, canvas, watercolor paper – the options are endless!
Paint brushes
You don’t have to have any specific brushes for this tutorial. You’ll just want to make sure that you have a flat brush for the larger areas and a small round brush for the details. If you’re looking for a recommendation, I prefer the Simply Simmons brushes like this one.
Gold Art Supplies
We’ll be adding gold flourishes to this piece at the end. I used gold leaf in this example, but you can use gilding wax, gold acrylic paint or gold paint pens if you prefer. Here’s a link to a blog post with my favorite gold art supplies!
Step 1: Brainstorm Your Word
Start by brainstorming a list of words that you might want to choose as your word of the year. It’s ok to have more than one, but try and narrow it down as much as possible. Think about what you want to focus on, what’s important to you, and what you want to call into your life. Don’t overthink the brainstorming session, just let the words flow! Once you’ve written out your list, choose one that resonates the most.
Step 2: Create Small Thumbnail Sketches of Your Word
Before we dive into the painting process, you’ll want to play around with how you want your word to look. Write it out and explore different embellishments and ways that the letters can interact with each other.
You can even play with stylizing the word in a way that evokes the emotion that the word conveys. For example, I embellished the word “Glow” with some sunshiney rays to bring out a sense of brightness. When I sketched the word “Relax” I made it long and flowing to give it a relaxing vibe.
Sketch out the word as many times as you need to and once you’ve found a composition you love, you can use it as a reference for your painting.
Step 3: Prepare Your Canvas
Now it’s time to paint! Decide on the surface you want to use for your artwork. You can use a sturdy piece of paper, a canvas, or even a nontraditional surface like glass. If you’re working with paper, make sure it’s thick enough to handle paint without warping. A good acrylic paper, mixed media paper, or watercolor paper should work just fine!
Step 4: Paint a Background Wash
To start, choose a color that inspires you or that evokes the meaning of your word. I’m using the word “Relax” so I’ll be painting with a beautiful, relaxing turquoise blue.
Add the paint to a palette and then slowly add water to give it a washy watercolor effect. Give your background some visual interest by making sure there is a good variation in the different values (light and dark areas) on your background. You can’t really mess this part up. Lay the paint down, have fun, and explore! You can even go back in and add some extra water drops to the background to enhance the flowy watercolor look.
When you’re happy with your background, set it aside to dry fully. If you want to speed up the process, you can use a hairdryer. I did this with my painting and I think it really enhanced the final look of the background!
Step 5: Sketch Your Word
Once your background is fully dry, you can use a pencil to sketch out your word. Use the thumbnail sketch you created earlier as a reference. You can erase any mistakes or things you want to change, just make sure that the background layer is completely dry before you sketch or you won’t be able to erase it!
Step 6: Paint Your Word
Now, for the best part – painting your word of the year! In my example, I used gold leaf to make my word pop and shine, but you can use acrylic paint, gold paint pens, or whatever you prefer!
If you want a full length tutorial on how to use gold leaf, check out my class, Mesmerizing Metallics where I walk through the process step by step. When you join the class from the links in this blog post, you’ll be granted a free month trial to Skillshare to watch the class and thousands of others for free!
Whether you use gold leaf or acrylic paint, I recommend using a round brush and making sure that you’re painting with a light touch. This will allow you to have more control over the fine lines that you’re painting for the letters. If you want to add variation to the thickness of your letterforms, you can simply press down a little harder with your brush like I did on the flourishes of the “R” and “x”.
Step 7: Add Embellishments
Lastly, it’s time to make your painting truly shine with fun embellishments. Add small stars, dots, or swirls around your word to make it stand out. You might also choose to incorporate symbols or shapes that reflect your word’s meaning, like swirly cloud shapes for “Relax”, leaves for “Growth”, or hearts for “Love.”
I chose to paint my flowing shapes around the word so that they looked like they were emanating from it. This is a great way to keep your word as the center of attention while making your piece look cohesive.
Et voilà! Your stunning word of the year is complete!
By turning your word of the year into a work of art, you’re not just setting an intention, you’re creating a visual anchor to help you stay focused and motivated throughout the year.
Happy painting, and may your word guide you toward all the joy, peace, and growth that you envision! 😊
xo, Jessi
If you want to use gold leaf for this project but haven’t used it before, I share more about the process in my class, Mesmerizing Metallics.
You’ll paint three stunning metallic projects with me and follow along with my process step-by-step. It’s an amazing way to improve your acrylic painting skills and learn how to use the tricky but rewarding medium of gold leaf!
You can take the class for free when you sign up for a free month-long trial to Skillshare using any of the class links in this blog post!
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