this month's watercolor tip

Trusting Your Instincts

The best way I can describe it is to compare it to cooking.  Now, I love to cook.  I remember my father and grandmother always cooking up a storm.  My mother had the baking gene that has somehow bypassed me.  Anyway, through the years of collecting recipes, delving into French cooking a la Julia Child, I've finally reached a point in my culinary adventures where I can work with recipes and add my own special touches.  Wouldn't a bit of cilantro brighten that up?  A little crushed red pepper, I think.  I have even gotten to the point where I can scan the cupboard and fridge and just whip something up.  Happily, this same kind of comfy familiarity also comes with art.

The more you create, the more attuned you get with your materials and how they work.  It's not a process that is hurried, but rather evolves slowly.  In the beginning, step-by-step instructions are helpful.  They provide the guidance and the necessary knowledge to move forward.  Reference photos are helpful too, allowing you to understand composition and design.  At some point though, their importance fades and your imagination takes over.  Wouldn't a bit of shadow here really bring out that barn?  Definitely, paynes gray.   You find that you've approached a point where you instinctively grab for that certain brush or mix that special mix.  You don't even know that you're doing it.  It just happens.  This is a great place to be.

I'm going to say something bold that flies in the face of what you may have read earlier.  I don't think it a bad thing to continually experiment with new colors and bring them onto your palette.  Many will suggest keeping to a regular palette, which is all well and good in the beginning, but again, at some point you need to trust your own instincts.  Just as maybe no other spice could quite duplicate the taste of say, saffron, so might you find that only that new color you bought a bit ago will put just the right touch on what you're doing.   As artists, we're continually evolving and trying new things.  It keeps our art fresh and more than anything shows the you behind the creative force.  Your choices and directions determine your own unique style.  That's the ultimate goal, isn't it?  Your painting will reflect you, the all of you.  There's no right or wrong way.  Only you know the path to take.  Trust your instincts.