I recently started using high-quality Japanese watercolors and found myself truly enjoying the process of watercolor painting. I have been using India inks and acrylic inks for years but using these watercolors unleashed a new style. It was a way to get out of my usual way of painting and explore something new, something even more exciting.
Having used a black pen for so long to add to my ink paintings, it was a little difficult at first to break away from that tendency to want to add the black pen to anything I created. But then I discovered I loved watching the color and water move around the paper and what would result. No black pen would be needed. This was delicate and soft and would remain that way.
I found a lot of comfort in painting florals in this style. There are no rules when you paint intuitively. You have no goals or preconceived notions of what should end up on the paper. You simply let the water guide you and inform your next steps.
I created a collection of watercolor florals but then combined these florals with (planned) imagery like the ukulele, thus breaking away from the true intuitive style but still letting water and color guide my florals. The results were very exciting, and I loved seeing the ukulele with such beautiful, soft flowers.
The loose and intuitive way of painting has opened my eyes to a new style. I like it here and think I’ll stay for a while. I’m looking forward to the different kinds of elements and imagery I can combine with my florals.
I have started an Etsy shop with my paintings available as digital downloads in a range of popular sizes. You can visit my shop, Art Created by Susan here.
Have you ever completely changed the way you make art? Or the way you look at things? Did you find that it helped to get out of a rut? I would love to hear your thoughts on this. Feel free to comment below; I look forward to connecting with you.