Create a series of boxes on a piece of paper or in your art journal. You are going to assign a color to each box. Then each color will be assigned an emotion.
I made 16 boxes and lined them up in a grid. Make as many boxes as you want. You can arrange them in a grid like I did or place them in a random design.
To decide how many emotions you want, make a list of emotions you sometimes feel. You also can think in terms of "I feel..." (For example, I feel vibrant, I feel feminine.) Good "list of emotions" if you need help.
I also looked at my previous paintings and made a list of the colors I like to use most. I than assigned a color to each emotion on my list.
Next I am going to fill each box with one color of acrylic paint. To keep the painted boxes clean, I outlined a few boxes at a time with artist tape.
Remember your boxes can be more abstract or even another shape. Don't worry too much about making them perfect. This is not a final piece of art but a practice exercise.
Fill in all of the boxes with your chosen colors. When all the boxes are filled remove the artist tape and let your page completely dry.
The middle of your journal can look a big grungy because of the journal stitching.
So I sometimes use a strip of wash tape to cover it up.
I can even use Washi Tape around the entire facing page.
I use the facing page to take notes and write down any thoughts I have about this exercise.
After the colors are completely dry I write one emotion in each box. I recommend that you use acrylic paints, gouache or watercolors for the boxes. They dry quicker than oil and it is so difficult to write on pastels.