Reunited with One of My First Loves

I've taken up painting again, and unlike running, it's not premature to say I've "taken it up." This time i'm painting with watercolors rather than acrylics. It makes so much more sense for someone who travels and moves around a lot. What's taken me so long to discover, or rather to re-discover, the joy and ease of painting with watercolors? I absolutely love it, and I remember loving it in preschool as well, painting rainbows and flowers and houses and stick figures to my heart's content!

The last time I used water colors must've been as a child. If there's been a time between then and now, I don't remember it. My mom paints with acrylics, so that's what I had access to growing up, and dabbled in painting on and off over the years. Mostly abstract, or sky-scapes with evergreen trees or mountains. Nothing too complicated or detailed or realistic. Although I did start drawing with pencil a baby in a womb on an oval-shaped canvas once, but never did start painting it. The drawing was so surprisingly good, for someone who "can't" draw, that i didn't want to ruin it! I think now I'll gladly ruin it next time I'm in Seattle. I'm brave enough now. I'm ready. To either ruin it or to surprise myself with a completed painting.

That will require some precision, and acrylics. So until then I'll delight in the playful and easy ways of water colors. It really does feel like playing, with color. With creativity. With imagination. With flow.

I started out wanting to paint the sunset over the ocean. "but how?" I asked myself. "just start," I answered. "it can be abstract, an impression, if you don't *figure it out.*"

And so I started. With blues and purples, the sea merging into the sky. And then came a metallic peachy sort of color, and then metallic pink. And then splashes of metallic light blue. I have a traditional set of solid colors as well as a set full of metallic colors that create an iridescent effect; I love them! I've always had a thing for the iridescent, metallic, and interference color acrylics. Now I get to experience them in water colors. :) Yay!

Speaking of water, that's what came next-- experimenting with adding more water to the whole thing, which resulted in some blending of the colors, as well as creating a cloudy effect in the sky. Not sure if I'll do more with this first one, like attempting to add waves to make it more like the ocean. I like it how it is, although it does seem to be missing something, so maybe I'll return to it...

But first I will complete my 2nd painting! It's of the red couch on my balcony with green palms and other foliage around it. Reds, yellows,greens, and browns. I can hardly wait to get back to it. Speaking of which, it's almost time...

 

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