Hello, hello! Another day, another post!

I’ve been a bit quieter than I hoped — but this time, it’s because I’ve been ✨busy✨. That’s busy, in a good way! Traveling for weddings with old friends, countless kids’ activities, doing some spring-cleaning…. and yes, even art! That’s right, I’ve been engaging with my art in some way nearly every day so far this year!

The watercolor practice plan that I shared back in January ended up being a system that worked really well for me. I think having the materials, references, and plans based on energy levels ready ahead of time made it easier to dive right in, in the limited windows I have for practice. My original plan was only intended to last a month, but I ended up extending it to 3 months (a quarter) so that I could continue to develop the skills. So now that we’re into the second quarter, I’m ready to kick off a new focus!

This quarter, I’ll be exploring water through my dedicated watercolor practice focus. Water feels like a natural next step after skies; it utilizes a lot of the same skills. Wet-in-wet and moisture management and transparent layers for depth, color mixing for reflections, negative painting for highlights and shadows, perspective for waves… it’s all there. Additionally, it’s a subject that likely won’t become boring: there are ocean beaches, flowing rivers, waterfalls, reflections, droplets, clear, rocky floors, and so many other aspects of water that can be explored.

My Growth

Water is often in my paintings! I mostly muddle my way through it, though, similar to how I was approaching my skies. Just making it up as I go.

Old Work

As with most of my early watercolor works, I painted these from Alicia Aradilla tutorials. These were some of my very first attempts, without any other practice. Looking at them now, I can see that my brush strokes lacked confidence, and that I was not properly exercising water control (pun not intended).

Recent work

More recently, I painted water alongside my skies practice. I also painted water quite a bit when I was in Spain — I mean, the Mediterranean is irresistible!

Similar to my skies work before, I can see that I’m sticking to simple representations of water — and not doing my medium justice.

Where should I focus?

I think my most obvious area for improvement is to practice the brush strokes that make up my waves. The ones I have now feel very stiff, mechanical, unlike the fluid, meandering beauty of live water. Beyond this, I’m excited to explore the layers and negative painting that can bring more life to water in watercolor!

Artist Inspiration

Judy Salleh

Judy is a multidisciplinary artist who currently lives in Australia. She works in many mediums: gouache, pastel, acrylic, ink, and watercolor. I’ve been very lucky to study with her for the last 4 years! Her Zoom lessons are always a highlight of my week.

The way that Judy paints water has never ceased to fascinate me. The layers of colors and quick sweeps that create so much movement always draw my eye.

Julia Barminova

Julia Barminova is a watercolor artist and prolific painter of the ocean. Her work is so transparent and full of life. The depth and richness she captures with just a handful of pigments is truly an inspiration.

Poppy Balser

Poppy Balser is a Canadian artist, who gravitates towards plein air (outdoor) work — primarily in watercolor. Using a limited palette, Poppy captures the ocean in all of its moods.

The Plan

Low-Energy Practice

To paint water effectively, one must practice wet-in-wet and dry brush techniques. On low-energy days, I will aim to practice these techniques. I’ll also work on my color mixing.

High-Energy Practice

On days when I have more time or energy, I will work through tutorials and references.

References

As before, I created a Pinterest board for my watercolor water practice. Check it out, and join me in this practice!