Wednesday, 3 February 2010

Does It Matter?

I read emails and listen to students who try  so hard to create a masterpiece. They put so much stress on their shoulders by despertely trying to paint a piece that will be framed or shown in an exhibition.Every single time they pick up a brush it has to be to create a huge success.

What a headache!

" It doesn't turn out the way I want it to " is a really popular saying. If we were working with other mediums  where  the pigment  stays where it is placed I could understand the frustration. But when working with watercolour the sheer joy is in not having control.Working with this medium as a friend who excites us is incredible. With every single brushstroke or application of colour  we can achieve a huge variety of unique effects.

Playing with watercolour  in exercises is valuable in achieving  better results. In my second book I aim to show how much fun can be had with simple exercises and demonstrate how exciting painting in a loose style can be.

I received some lovely comments  about the girl with the umbrella on my blog yesterday. Let's look at her again. How did I create her without a sketch?

I literally just threw colour on my paper! And a lot of water!


I can see the umbrella is too small..........and so I make it larger adding  stronger colour now.


And a painting magically begins to appear in seconds!

What have I learned from this two minute exercise?

I can make changes in watercolour.
I can have fun if I relax and enjoy  my painting session!

I can also throw this in the bin and no one will be any the wiser!

Does it matter?

Enjoying holding the brush does.....everything else is hindering gorgeous results!

Have fun !

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1 comment:

Laura D. Poss said...

Good things to remember!