watercolors » You Can Sleep When You're Dead: Blog by Colleen Miniuk

Een grote Nederlandse site om te spelen Speel hier en bekijk de gokkasten bezoek deze site. For en stor opplevelse beste online kasinoer inkludert blackjack, spilleautomater og roulette For a great place to play games, check out the play casino games at www.canada-casinos.net where you can play a variety of games. werfen Sie einen Blick Casino Spiele mit Gratis Bonus mit Blackjack, Spielautomaten und Roulette.Everyone likes to indulge in a bit of gambling from time to time and you can Besok denna webbplats for att spela casinospel . For a est votre guide des meilleurs casinos en ligne et jouer a des jeux de casino. A great site for Australian pokies where you can click this link to play pokies or have a go at est votre guide des meilleurs casinos en ligne When you place a bet on the 2013 Grand National there are some great free bet offers for the Grand National offers to be had from leading UK bookmakersclick here for the latest betting where you will find everything for Cheltenham free bet offer. In South Africa those looking for a great site to play casino games should visit this site about casino games where there are loads of the latest casino games and for Australian players a large amount of try this link to play pokies and you'll find a big choice of use this link to play slot machines . besoka denna kasino Besok denna webbplats for att spela casinospel. If you are interested in binary options then take a look at this site which is a great choice.

Feb 072021
 
Share

About a week ago, I went camping with Jeanne Adams (Ansel Adams’ daughter-in-law). She came to Arizona to pick up a new camper van and my 16 prints for my “The Current Flow: Water in the Arid West” exhibit this June. Before she drove home, I offered to help her break in her new rig (while following all COVID social-distancing guidelines). We ended up spending a delightful three days in Marble Canyon along my beloved Colorado River. I photographed. She painted. I watched her. She suggested I should try watercolor painting sometime.

Growing up, I had little exposure to visual arts beyond finger painting and paper mache masks in elementary school. In eighth grade, I was so bad at drawing, I transferred out of an art class after the first day. (I elected to take Home Economics instead where I ended up burning bread during the baking assignment and sewing the legs on my shorts shut during sewing…). I had tried watercolor painting once and it almost made me cry. Runny paint, mixed colors, and unpredictable results were a perfectionist’s nightmare. Other than photography and one hilarious (but fun and enlightening!) attempt at painting Monet lily pads at a wine-and-paint shop down the street in 2015, I’ve steered clear of any artistic expression requiring significant hand-eye coordination…

Until last night…

When I returned home from my trip with Jeanne, I ordered a cheap watercolor set—paint, brushes, and a small booklet of watercolor paper. Last night, I gave it a try. I had no idea what I was doing. I had no idea how to mix colors and water and empty space. I had no idea what different brushes do. I just made up the scene as I went as I watched the paint do whatever it did on the page. I just responded to it. Now, I did tap into my growing understanding of how to depict depth in photographs to help create dimension—lines, layers, light, and even optical illusions.

Above are my results: a recovering perfectionist’s first attempt at watercolor painting.

If I could tell my younger self anything, it’s that you don’t have to be good at something to enjoy it and learn from it. (I realize one could make the argument that bread tastes better, and thus is more enjoyable, when it is not burned…). If you’re having fun keep doing it. If you aren’t having fun, stop and find something else fun to do. Why spend the time you have on this planet choosing to do things you don’t like to do?

You can bet I’ll be painting with watercolors again tonight…