When I scan the wonder of creation, I see a watercolor filled with endless glazed nuances. My eyes ponder and pause at nature’s great artistry. I see vignettes and the sheer perfection and beauty of them. The interactions of color, shadows and composition...be they delicate flowers in a garden, dazzling lights dancing on the water or the breath-taking vista seen from afar...hold me in their grasp. And then I begin to paint the watercolor in my mind. Determining what paint mixture would make that sparkling color, what brush technique would make that texture...my inner view-finder crops the picture and the focal point begins to speak.
My journey as an artist is to remind myself to paint what my soul longs to express. Art, like nature, is not about the straight line. It is the subtleties and transparent qualities of the watercolor paint, letting it do what it naturally does with skilled control, that brings success. The best quality about this medium is its ability to surprise. That is its truest parallel to life. The greatest test is learning how to make something beautiful out of it.