What is Zenskin Art?
Zenskin is a Verb
“To zenskin” is a word I came up with to describe what I do when I paint in a specific meditative way. It took a long time for me to develop the process and an even longer time to realize how simple it actually is.
Simple Mindfulness
Basic Steps
Sit quietly for a moment and notice what word or phrase is in the forefront of my consciousness.
Write that word or phrase over and over, overlapping the strokes of my handwriting, until it becomes illegible.
Find interesting shapes made by the intertwining lines, and fill them in with one solid color. Without analyzing or planning, move from one shape to the next until that layer of color feels complete.
Where is the Skin?
Each new round of colored shapes becomes the new top layer, but the mediums I chose blended with the layer below and then would merge with the next layer applied on top. The way each new layer would partially obscure, but also reactivate what was below felt so alive to me. This is why I started thinking of the layers as “skins”. For best results, I gradually settled on a couple mediums as core to this method.
Watercolor pencil provides the most unexpected, beautiful results for the filled in shapes.
Washable markers work best for writing the words or phrases, since the ink will merge and blend with the shapes when water is applied.
Why is it Zen?
Finding shapes and applying color to them provides the perfect balance of simplicity and challenge.
Simplicity
I focus intently on the tangle of lines until a form emerges, then my attention remains locked on that area until I have filled it in with the watercolor pencil. The more complicated the shape, the more interesting it is to look at. I can get into tight corners and narrow corridors if I keep my pencil sharp. The color will be transparent and reactive any colors below when I add water, so I must be mindful of that. I move from one shape to the next, my thought process very clear and focused.
Challenge
In the next step, I turn the pencil into paint by applying water with a very fine brush. Depending on the complexity of the shape, this can require expert dexterity. The water often has a mind of its own, and has to be carefully managed. For just one example, if a shape is large and complex, the time required to refine the edges and corners must must be balanced with water drying in large areas and creating watermarks.
The surprises are the most fun, though! I never quite know how the water will react on top of the previous layer. Sometimes one color of marker is more reactive than another and will produce strange, unintentional effects when water hits it. Sometimes colors many layers below the top skin will resurface and dissolve, while others will stubbornly float where they are completely unchanged.
Process Or Product?
As a professional artist, at first I was more interested in a product to sell. Once I realized how much the experience of this “making meditation” was actually helping me, mentally and emotionally, I started championing the process. I even taught traditional meditation classes at counseling center for a while, my Zenskin Art just hung on the walls for ambiance. Now, I see process and product as symbiotic, inseparable, and equal.
