I really liked The Color Meditation Deck. It seemed like an easy and fun way to jumpstart one's creativity. I could see it being used in library programming for a watercolor class. It would be really fun to see how everyone interpreted the prompt. Users would not need to be watercolor or painting experts to participate.

ARC via NetGalley

The idea for this book came to Lisa Solomon from times when she felt stuck or lacked motivation during her painting, so she would do a mini watercolor exercise and feel refreshed and recharged!

She used the mini paintings to explore unusual colors side by side, or to experiment with different hues or saturations that she might want to use in a real painting. She called these warm-up or meditation paintings. (Watercolors are not required, any medium will do.)

The deck of cards that are included with this book have colors and patterns on one side (they are suggestions or ideas for painting exercises), and on the opposite side, an explanation of the prompt and the approach Ms. Solomon used. She said that doing these small exercises regularly (for 5-10 minutes, or longer) helped her grow as an artist, and she felt more satisfied, because the meditations were also time to play, try new things, and make mistakes! Ms. Solomon reports that she is still learning things about color from the exercises.

In the text, Ms. Solomon discusses techniques,
color theory and combinations, showing color wheels that make the concepts clear, along with other important topics.

I found this exercise concept to be interesting and exciting. I often don't have more than 10-15 minutes at a time, so starting a project can be unrealistic and depressing. The timing works for me. Creativity is my meditation; it gives me a sense of satisfaction and relieves stress that nothing else can, and it helps me remain positive--which I certainly need! I have been looking for a way to get back to watercolor painting for many years, and this is my answer! Thank you!

5/5 Stars

Thanks to RoostBooks and NetGalley for the free preview of this ebook pdf; the review is voluntary.

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I loved the exercises in this book - the format makes it easy to access an infinite number of random prompts by drawing cards from the beautiful deck. The copy I reviewed was not in deck form so I can't speak to the quality of the cards, but the designs are lovely and the prompts are thought provoking. I look forward to purchasing my own copy of the actual deck!

I had no idea what to expect with The Color Meditation Deck but I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised at what I found. What I found was a whole world of inspiration even for a clueless artist such as myself. Lisa Solomon did an amazing job taking the time to breakdown paint, color, materials, and the overall concept of drawing into a meditation through painting.

When this deck is published I am sure it will be a big hit! We have Lisa’s previous book in the library and it is well loved and borrowed. The deck is something I will certainly recommend even though we won’t have a copy in the library to lend out if it is in card form which I assume it will be.
The many many combinations and ideas generated from using ‘The Color Meditation Deck’ are endlessly inspiring and the illustrations are lovely and inspiring by themselves.
I would buy this as a gift for anyone who is interested in making art.