My painting time continues and quite often when I sit to create I feel anxious. This is especially true if I have energy that keeps me from being still.
Life can get in the way of my desire to paint freely, but I find the natural flow of watercolor eventually helps me collect into the calm.
I sort of get lost in the mixing process because the color pallet begins to tell a new story. You imagine how each color will interact when it reaches the paper.
Maybe too much water is added but somehow it doesn't matter because with the right brush you can release the excess.
To me the movement is beautiful and this is when I begin to escape into the calm.
Every watercolor artist has their own way of adding water and pigment to paper. Some paint wet on wet and others paint wet on dry.
I do a combination, making sure my paper is secure to a slightly tilted surface to keep the paper from warping. I usually begin from the right side and sort of move on from there.
I'm not trying to create from a photograph because I find if we look into our heart we might see something greater.
Perhaps maybe the next time you are in a gallery or at an art show stop for a minute as you look at some watercolor paintings.
- Allow yourself to notice the natural flow and those unplanned details.
- Ask yourself how does it make you feel happy, sad, calm or excited?
- Does it remind you of nature or does it make you want to go explore nature?
I discovered watercolor painting by taking some classes. The goal was to help me relax but in reality, sometimes I think it was to help me let go of control.
This painting isn't anything special but it doesn't remind me why I chose this medium. We sort of found each other and I continue to let watercolors inspire my flow of creativity.
Encouraging goodness,
Carole West