The Colorful Soul
A Watercolor Journal Practice for the Senses and the Sacred
A 7-Month Live Journal Practice with Karen Elaine & Wendy
A place to return. A place to soften.
A place to keep showing up.
Inside Willa Workshops, there’s a quiet sub-community that has formed over time: The watercolor painters. The ones who return to their journals not for the challenge—but for the feeling.
The feeling of brush to paper; Of color moving; Of something inside you settling as you paint.
It’s no secret that I’m one of you.
Watercolor is where I go when I want to relax the most.
It’s where I return when my nervous system needs something steady, gentle, and consistently healing.
The Colorful Soul was created for that space.
What is The Colorful Soul?
This is a live, monthly paint-along experience for watercolor journalers.
Not a traditional class.
Not a place to learn something new.
A place to return.
For seven months, we’ll gather on Zoom, open our journals, and paint—together.
Page by page.
Layer by layer.
Month by month.
Like sitting at a table with friends who speak the same creative language.
What are we making?
Karen calls her journal The Book of Prayers.
For her, it’s a place to hold what matters—hopes, reflections, questions, and quiet truths.
That name might resonate with you. Or it might not. You get to decide what your book is.
You might call it…
Or you might not name it at all.
What matters is that it becomes a place to keep what feels important to you.
Your book might hold words you don’t want to forget; thoughts you’re still working through; things you’re hoping for; things you’re healing from; moments of clarity; small, meaningful truths
There’s no right way to do this. Only your way.
What we’ll be doing together
Each month, we’ll gather live on Zoom. Karen and I will sit down with our journals and paint—side by side—just as we would if we were sharing a table.
We’ll talk as we work & You’ll see:
how we build a page from nothing
how we choose color and composition in real time
how lettering finds its way in naturally
how we keep going, even when we’re not sure what comes next
And you can:
paint along with us
ask questions as they come up
or simply watch and create later
There’s no pressure to keep up.
This isn’t about performance. It’s about presence.
This experience brings everything together
This offering is designed for those who already feel at home with watercolor.
If you’ve taken:
Watercolor for Relaxation
Watercolor for Joy
Love Your Imperfect Letters
or similar classes inside Willa Workshops
You already have everything you need.
This isn’t about learning more. It’s about using what you know in a way that feels natural, intuitive, and sustaining. Where color, lettering, and mark-making begin to live together—without overthinking.
The Colorful Soul FAQs
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7 live sessions
First Tuesday of each month
1:00 PM Eastern
Hosted live on Zoom
Can’t make it live every time?
All sessions will be recorded and added to your private classroom on Teachable with lifetime access, so you can return whenever you need.
You can:
paint alongside us in real time
watch and create between sessions
or move through everything at your own pace
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This isn’t about pushing yourself.
It’s about giving yourself something reliable.
A rhythm.
A touchpoint.
A space your nervous system begins to recognize.A place where:
you don’t have to figure everything out
you don’t have to make something “good”
you can simply begin… and see what unfolds
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By the end of our time together, you’ll have:
A deeply personal journal (whatever you choose to call it)
Pages filled with color, words, and meaning
A creative practice you can return to again and again
A deeper trust in your own voice
Meet your Teacher!
Karen Elaine
Karen Elaine is a Fodder School instructor, mixed-media artist, author, teacher, and two-time cancer survivor. Her passions are sharing art, spreading hope, and inspiring others to be creative.
Karen has a lifelong passion for Watercolor, and has been teaching it for over 30 years. She has worked in the art supply industry for even longer, working in product development and education for Yasutomo, and becoming an ambassador for many other brands.
Karen lives and creates with her husband and cat in Cottonwood, Arizona.
A quiet invitation
If you’ve been craving a softer way to create…
If you’ve been wanting to return to your journal more consistently…
If you’re part of this watercolor rhythm and want a place to land each month…
This is for you.