Vistas & Mountains
I started painting with watercolors when I was ten. My mom bought me my first set. I remember loving the colors and how they would blend to make even more colors, some darker some lighter but all of them dancing on the paper.
In high school I had the most amazing art teacher; Louise St. Amand. She was kind, supportive and caring, the best qualities for an art teacher! Not only did she encourage my art, but she provided supplies so that I could continue painting even when I was not at school. She allowed me to use my free periods to hang out in the art studio and paint. The solitude of that studio was a place of peace and calm for me. I think of her often with gratitude for this pivotal moment in my life. This time spent in Louise's classroom studio was the beginning of my love affair with watercolor.
I also studied watercolor painting with another wonderful teacher; Jeremy Foss at Massachusetts College of Art. He too was a wonderful teacher, also kind, supportive, and caring. I recall days spent at the Arnold Arboretum painting Plein Air with him. I painted large watercolors of the beautiful trees, shrubs and ponds in this serene setting. His technique of using the watercolor to mirror the landscapes was awe inspiring. He never tried to paint exactly what he saw, more the essence of it. He was a wonderful mentor to me, and these memories are fond ones.
When I really want to slow down and just "create" I find myself going back to this old friend. I love the way I can be loose with the brush strokes. The paint flows in the water on the paper in magical waves of pigment. I always want the paint to be light, almost weightless. The patterns left by the colors mixing and running into each other is what I am most happy with.
I've always used pencil with watercolors but now I am intentionally using pencil to create lines and words in these new paintings. The pencil lines complete the story I am telling. I love the way these two mediums blend to make my messages come to life.
Ode to My Eye
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