For years I've wanted to learn to paint with watercolors. About twenty years ago I played around with acrylic and oils and really enjoyed that challenge. I wasn't especially talented, but I had fun and was better than I'd expected.
Still, watercolor really appeals to me--even though the technique is almost the opposite of what I became comfortable with back then.
So, thanks to a recent gift card, I ordered a book on watercolor technique, suited to the meanest understanding, and a beginners set of water colors. Reading the book Friday night, I began to feel the excitement of striking out into new territory. And Saturday morning I began with some of the easy projects.
I'd almost forgotten the very real pleasure of painting--the colors, the attention to detail, the challenge of making a picture. It's a perfect meditation--no room for anything else.
A banana, a pumpkin, a tomato, and lots of free form doodles in the extra space as I faff about, seeing what the difference is between putting color on wet, on half-wet, on dry.
It's been a long year of a kind of malaise with almost nothing new in it--I'm embarrassed I didn't think of trying this earlier. It may be the effect of the approach of Spring (I find myself also doing bits of long overdue cleaning.)
And thanks to the vaccine, we had dinner last night at friends' house--the first time in a year. Before and after a fine meal, I caught up with what's been going on in our circle of friends and the guys watched basketball. To make the evening perfect for the guys, Carolina won and Duke lost.
2021 is beginning to look up!
9 comments:
Bravo pour ce retour à la peinture!
Et pratiquer avec Josie serait (ou sera ) merveilleux !
Way to go! You are the best Vicki, I started three years ago and it is so much fun!
Enjoy! Do it just for the mere pleasure of doing it!
I am reminded of this quote by Kurt Vonnegut: “When I was 15, I spent a month working on an archeological dig. I was talking to one of the archeologists one day during our lunch break and he asked those kinds of “getting to know you” questions you ask young people: Do you play sports? What’s your favorite subject? And I told him, no I don’t play any sports. I do theater, I’m in choir, I play the violin and piano, I used to take art classes. And he went WOW. That’s amazing! And I said, “Oh no, but I’m not any good at ANY of them.” And he said something then that I will never forget and which absolutely blew my mind because no one had ever said anything like it to me before: “I don’t think being good at things is the point of doing them. I think you’ve got all these wonderful experiences with different skills, and that all teaches you things and makes you an interesting person, no matter how well you do them.” And that honestly changed my life. Because I went from a failure, someone who hadn’t been talented enough at anything to excel, to someone who did things because I enjoyed them. I had been raised in such an achievement-oriented environment, so inundated with the myth of Talent, that I thought it was only worth doing things if you could “Win” at them.”
Great to hear of you stretching your creative talent into visual arts. I just gave away a flat screen that had been sitting on a desk, and behind it was stuck a watercolor tablet...you've inspired me. Soon!
Sue enjoyed watercolour but had to give it up when she injured her back.
Great quote, Karen!
And now you can have even more fun with Josie!
Id be interested in knowing what the book was that got you started. I'm inspired
Watercolor Success in Four Steps: 150 Skill-Building Projects to Paint (Design Originals) Beginner-Friendly Step-by-Step Instructions & Techniques to Create Beautiful Paintings as Easy as 1-2-3-4
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