Betcha didn’t think I meant paint brushes, did ya? A few years ago I picked up the brushes and paint again to counteract all the digital things that have crept into my life.

I truly missed getting graphite and paint on my hands. Digital is so…clean…and I’ve been doing small studies and sketches to learn how the paint, water and paper all can coexist within an image. An image that is usually a landscape, or abstract version of a landscape, etc.

I’m attracted to less realistic styles of landscapes, but equally impressed by realism. I continually experience the difficulty of watercolor. It has a mind of its own, and I’ve learned to just go with the flow. Cheesy, I know, but it is true. Plus I think that it helps create marks and visuals that the mind hasn’t even contemplated before the brush hits the paper. And it is so fun.

I encourage everyone to pick up some paints and a few brushes and try watercolor. Really. My advice would be to just play at first. Don’t try to create something you see in your mind’s eye. Just dip the brush in water, then paint, and then see what the brush can do. See what the paper can do. See how holding the brush horizontally and vertically changes the marks. Try more water. Less water. Try wetting the paper with clean water first. Try dry brush and different brush sizes.

And then do it with your less-dominant hand.

Here are some shots from the journey so far. Enjoy. ~Drifter07

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