Flows like Water

I’ve been doing a lot more watercolor paintings. I must admit, it is pretty sweet. I have been learning to work with the “permanence” of the material and use it to my advantage.  It’s been a lot more freeing to be able to work with watercolor, something I did not expect. With acrylic, I’ve been happy to keep moving the paint around to my liking. There’s something to be learned from the restricted nature of watercolor. Like I almost have to make do with what else I’ve got–how can I layer this color, make a different shape on top of this paint, make this painting tell a story/convey an emotion with as little movement as I can?

 

 

 

I’ve also been reading up on color theory and how colors influence people’s moods, etc. There’s research out there showing both support and also inconclusive results at this time, but more likely than not, people are subconsciously affected by the colors they see or experience and we just don’t have a good metric for quantifying it at present. Whatever. This is all subjective anyway. I know how yellow makes me feel, and I agree that it is the color of my inner spirit–vibrant, energetic, and optimistic. Although I don’t really feel like that right now, I continue to hold this color as the visible representation of my essence. But you gotta admit, there’s something pretty drop-dead-gorgeous and poetic about those green and black watercolor painting samples, right?

I was inspired to test my watercolor skills further and decided to make some fun pieces to give others. Here’s a watercolor painting on a birthday card I recently made!

 

For now, I think I’ll keep exploring where this watercolor adventure takes me. One important thing I’ve learned this year so far is that I must do the things that make me feel good, purposeful, important, and whole. If it isn’t any of those things, it has no place in my home. So, like water, I will keep flowing and go where it takes me. I’m up for my next adventure.