Artful Haven

"Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can."

— Arthur Ashe

How To Paint A Portrait With Only Acrylic Markers And A Water Brush

Hi Reader,

A little package landed on my doorstep a few weeks ago, and somehow it turned into one of my favorite creative moments of the year.

The timing honestly could not have been worse… or more perfect.

My whole family was deep in wedding mode for my nephew. The house was full of that beautiful chaos that comes before big family celebrations, family lunches, dresses hanging everywhere, last-minute errands, relatives arriving, people talking over each other in the kitchen, someone always asking where something was.

You know the energy.

And right in the middle of all of that…

the doorbell rang.

I opened the box, saw those Ohuhu acrylic markers lined up inside like little colorful jewels, and immediately felt that tiny creative spark artists know so well.

That “oooooh I need to try these RIGHT NOW” feeling.

So naturally… I abandoned my responsibilities for a little while and disappeared into my art corner. 😂

I kept turning the markers over in my hands, swatching colors, imagining portraits, already thinking: “How do these actually behave?” “What happens if I push them?” “Can they really blend the way people say they do?”

Because if you’ve been around here for a while, you already know this about me:

Whenever I try new supplies, I love giving myself some kind of creative limitation.

I know that sounds backwards, but honestly? Constraints are where my best ideas usually show up.

Limit the colors. Limit the tools. Limit the time. Limit the subject.

Something about having fewer choices makes me braver creatively.

So I made myself a tiny challenge:

Paint a portrait using only the Ohuhu acrylic markers and one water brush.

No paints. No palette. No extra supplies waiting nearby to “save” the page.

Just the markers, water, and curiosity.

And I’ll be honest with you — at first, I struggled a little.

I didn’t have all the skin tones I would normally reach for, and for a moment I felt that familiar frustration creeping in. The little voice that says: “This would be easier if you just used your usual supplies.”

But instead of fighting the limitation, I leaned into it.

And suddenly something clicked.

I stopped trying to make realistic portraits. I stopped trying to make “perfect” portraits.

Instead, I started choosing complementary colors for each face — orange and blue, purple and yellow, red and green — and letting the colors tell the story instead.

And friend…

I had SO much fun.

The kind of fun where you completely lose track of time.

I ended up painting three portraits instead of one in one, sitting there with paint-covered fingers, completely forgetting the wedding chaos happening outside the room for a little while.

It reminded me of something I forget all the time:

Creativity doesn’t always need more. Sometimes it just needs less pressure.

Less overthinking. Less perfection. Less trying to make something impressive.

Just play.

And because I know many of you love approachable, low-pressure projects too, I wrote the whole process up on the blog this week:

👉 How to Paint a Portrait with Only Acrylic Markers and a Water Brush

Inside the post, I share:

• My honest thoughts about the Ohuhu markers

• The complementary color trick that makes portraits feel instantly more artistic

• The simple “3-zone” face method I used

• Why limitations can actually unlock creativity

• The exact supplies I used (nothing fancy)

• And how you can try this challenge yourself even if you’re a beginner

Not serious studio art. Not perfection. Not complicated setups.

Just sitting with a few supplies and making something for the joy of it.

If you do try it, please send me a photo or tag me @artfulhaven on Instagram. Truly. Seeing your creations is one of my favorite parts of this little creative community we’ve built here.

Wishing you a soft, slow, paint-stained summer week ahead 🌼

With love,

Salwa