It’s amazing how we are influenced by things and they stick with us. I saw this Koosje Koene video back in March of 2014 (courtesy of Inkophile) and it still has an effect on my work! Splashy backgrounds have become my “thing.”
Back when I was taking a watercolor class, I worked so “tight!” I was trying to make things look perfect. Instead they looked stiff. Now I love painting loose and messy.
Here are two other pieces I’ve created recently. Follow me on Instagram to see my latest projects. 🙂
It’s happened to all of us. You get inspired by something, you sit down to paint, you finish, and then you look at it and see the mistakes. Ugh. I have to admit, sometimes I don’t notice the mistakes until I take a photo of the final piece for Instagram. For some reason seeing it as a photo, gives me a different perspective on the piece.
So…you made a mistake and you aren’t happy with your painting, now what? Do you dive back in and try again or say “Oh well.” For me it depends. A big factor is how long I worked on the piece. If it was a quickie, like the Gerbera Daisy below, I’ll dive back in. I also weigh how big of a mistake it was. I’ve learned over time, that I’m very critical of a piece right after finishing it, because I’m still “in it.” Several days later I’m much less critical.
For me, the mistake of adding 2-3 extra rows of petals was too big to ignore. I was so happy with the painting until I “saw” what I had done. I had gotten carried away. I immediately started another version.
I’ve had this dilema before and wrote about it, here and here. What I realized back then, is that painting a piece over doesn’t ensure success. It doesn’t ensure a better version. I might correct some mistakes, but lose other good things about the first version.
Do you paint a new version when you make a mistake?
I try to paint or draw everyday. The first step for me is to pull everything out of the closet and set it up on the kitchen table. This seems like an obvious step, but my point is I don’t wait for that bolt of inspiration to strike.
Occasionally, I know what I’m going to paint as I head for my supplies. More often, as I pull out my sketchbook and paints, I think, “I have no idea what I’m going to create,” followed by, “oh! I can paint [blank].”
I know if I don’t pull out the paints, nothing will get done. It’s rare that I’m about to put pencil or brush to the page, and I still don’t know what I’m going to do. The process of pulling everything out and setting up, usually allows an idea to form. I think this is only possible, because I stay open to inspiration. When I see something that strikes me, I take a picture – even at the supermarket! These inspirational moments are in the back of my mind. I guess you’d say I’ve done my homework.
Gerber Daisies at the supermarket:
I’ve written several posts that relate to this topic of “What to paint?”
I remember very clearly the moments before I started working on two of my favorite pieces from last year. I sat down to draw and had no ideas. In both cases I stepped outside to the backyard and looked around. In one case I took a photo of the Montauk Daisies and went back inside to paint them. The other time, I collected a couple of leaves and other things and brought them inside and started to paint. You really don’t need much to get you going.
With watercolor, the painting often needs to dry between layers. So I leave everything setup all day, and from time to time, sit down to add details. It works better for me to finish in one day. If too much time goes by, my interest wanes, and the chances of finishing decreases.
My Process:
*Sometimes my first idea isn’t the painting I continue with that day. It’s more of a warm up. But more often than not, I stick with that first idea.
How do you decide “What to Paint?” I’d love to hear! 🙂
I took this picture while I was out running. Maybe it’s my next painting…
Hope you are all enjoying this beautiful day! 🙂
One of my 2015 goals is to host a watercolor party. Inspired by the Sip & Paint “movement” I thought it would be fun to invite a few friends over to paint. A way to share what I love to do.
I don’t think I’d want it to be a business, but I thought it would be fun to try a party. My friend since 1st or 2nd grade – Jen, who follows me on Instagram, asked, “Can I paint with you?”
So, when I was visiting her beautiful new home on Saturday, I brought my painting supplies. I figured I could try things out and see if I ‘d even want to try it on a group of people. A few days before, I tried teaching my young niece and my immediate thought was, “I don’t want to do this.” But armed with what I learned from my experience with my niece (who had been very happy painting what she felt like) I had the framework of a plan. My niece wanted to paint what she wanted to paint. That is part of the challenge – how do you teach people and “control” what they are working on, so you can guide them, but also allow them to be free to follow their own inspiration?
Here how I approached my lesson with Jen:
It is really funny how people, who don’t normally create, feel pressure with that blank piece of paper. Jen asked, “What should I paint?” I think she felt like she was being tested. I explained it was “scrap” paper and we were just learning.
The object of this assignment is to start playing with watercolor without stressing about what it’s suppose to be. Jen drew a heart in the middle. I drew a starfish. We kept our shapes dry and wet the area all around it. We concentrated on creating interesting backgrounds. I worked along with her on my own painting showing her different things I do, so she could use any techniques she wanted to. We let the backgrounds dry before we painted the shape.
I knew Jen was interested in painting a beach chair, so we found a photo for inspiration. (This will be more challenging for a group. I’ll have to have projects/photos ready for them to pick from.) The chair itself was really hard to draw. She started drawing it, I finished it up, but I was struggling. I guided her on what area to paint first, and talked her through the painting as needed. I was happily amazed at how quickly she picked up how to use watercolor – how wet the brush should be, when to add water, when to add paint. There was only once or twice that I interrupted to offer advice. One thing she said afterwards stuck with me. She said, “You made me feel like it was okay to mess up.”
This picture of her painting doesn’t do it justice! It came out great. I was proud of her and I think she was proud too!
It is really, really, satisfying to see someone experience that moment. That proud, “I made this,” moment. The same moment I had, a few years back, when I drew my bear. It’s the reason that there is a bear in my logo. For me it represents that moment. I may be hooked on spreading this joy! 🙂
P.S. Today she is online shopping for watercolor paints – wow.
Since I bought this sketchbook I’ve been busy filling it! I love the heavy paper. It works so well with watercolor. If you follow me on Instagram (@mycreativeresolution), you’ve probably seen some of these illustrations. Lately I’ve been posting everyday which helps keep me motivated. I setup my sketchbook and paints in the morning. Throughout the day I sit down to tweak or add to my painting. I’m going to need a new book soon!
It feels really good to finish something that I have wanted to do for a long time – paint a pool. I have loved pools since I was a little kid, especially outdoor pools. I grew up in a beach town (I know poor me) and our local pool was an indoor pool. I was a swimmer and occasionally during the Summer we would go to a swim meet at an outdoor pool. I thought I’d died and gone to heaven.
My kids are lucky enough, during the Summer, to have practice and all their swim meets at outdoor pools. Our pool even has a high dive. Spoiled kids! During the Summer, while I watch my kids practice I always think about painting the pool and the swimmers. I’ve taken pictures, started, sketched, but I always struggle early on and never finish.
Last Saturday we were at a Championship swim meet at an indoor pool and I was sitting high up in the bleachers. I took this photo. I thought it was so cool how the pool was crowded with swimmers warming up. I posted it on Instagram and wrote “I’d love to paint this!”
Yesterday I gave it a try. I realized that if I did the bodies first and painted the blue over parts of the body, that part would look like it was underneath the water.
In this first version I didn’t like that you couldn’t see one of the lane lines (the kids are sitting on it in the photo). The lanes were also uneven. And once I added the ink, I didn’t like it at all.
I decided to try again. I see my willingness to “try again” as growth as an artist. I used to sit down and expect to get it right the first time. Can you imagine if a photographer only took one photo! I now know that I need to warm up, try things out, not get discourage, and keep working and trying.
I purposely kept things simple without a lot of detail. Both my sons liked my first attempt better! But I like the second one. I’m hoping to do more of these, now that I finally got started!
I need a large piece of artwork to fit over my new couch in our living room. It seems a shame to buy something when I’ve been doing all this work, right?! Problem is, I don’t normally work large. I had an idea to paint two canvases with acrylics but my first stab didn’t go well, and I haven’t been inspired to try it again. Acrylics are still out of my comfort zone.
The Bare Wall
Lately on Instagram, I’ve gotten compliments for my watercolor backgrounds (ahem Margie). The other day when I was looking through a magazine I saw a watercolor “blob” for sale. Personally I didn’t really get it, but it gave me an idea. “Maybe I can create a larger piece that is similar to the backgrounds I normally create. An abstract watercolor.”
Yesterday morning it struck me – to work on three panels together, almost as if they were one sheet. I’ll trim each one, frame them separately, and hang them next to each other!
Will these work? The hunt for frames begins…
P.S. There aren’t any work in progress photos because I took a video! But it needs serious editing before I show it to you. ha ha. I turned the camera on, then walked away for 5 minutes to get my paints! Hopefully my editor (my daughter) can work on it soon, so I can show you. 🙂
When I first started working in watercolor I was intimidated by paintings with highlights and shadows. I thought I couldn’t possibly paint several layers. I hoped I could paint one layer and make it good enough. As I got comfortable with watercolor, I realized it’s all about building up the layers of paint. You start out in the ugly stages and as you add, and add, you [hopefully] turn the ugly duckling into a beautiful swan. I liked that you built it up, because mistakes could be covered or fixed. Each brushstroke wasn’t make or break. It’s a process.
This is what I was thinking about when I painted this sunflower this morning. How the ugly stage was awfully ugly! And how each layer of watercolor I added made the painting better. Originally I planned to add ink to the flower when I was done painting. As I got closer to finishing, I liked it the way it was. My daughter agreed.
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