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From the Introduction... This book is the result of my quest to find a way of teaching watercolor that would work for everyone, that would let anyone experience painting as an enjoyable. playful and magical part of his or her life. It also came from my own growing understanding that making art is an intuitive process, yet as far as I had seen, it has always been taught from a rational point of view. Increasingly, this just didn't make sense. I began to feel that teaching techniques, rules, principles and theories first was simply not appropriate and, more often than not, shut down a person's own creative process. |
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How to Use This Book... This is your course. There are no rules here except for this one: no negative self-talk -- no "It's not very good" or "I'm not very good." At any given time, you're doing your best. I encourage you to do things whichever way you want. You probably haven't had permission before now to explore art freely, without concern for the end result. There is no such thing as failure here; it's all learning. |
Give yourself time to play, to paint, to enjoy yourself. It is in your own playing and experience that your true learning happens. There's no need to rush; relax. Take yourself through the book one chapter at a time. Pretend you're taking a class that meets once a week or so, and work on your own in between. If you have to skip a week now and then, don't worry. Go at your own pace. Linger where it feels good to play around for a while. You are getting to know your artist within. Enjoy each other's company.
About the Demonstrations... The demonstrations in this book are meant only to give you an idea of what I am talking about, not show you "the way". There is no "one way" to do any of this; only your way now, tomorrow, next week. After you read through a demonstration, close the book and let yourself see what happens when you begin to play. While learning about watercolor in this playful way, you are also learning to tap into and trust your intuition. You have everything you need inside you already. You just need a little help letting it out. I'm here to say it's OK if you feel afraid. Know that whatever you do, it's OK. It's important that you paint, that you experience your love of life through art if it's calling you, even if only in a whisper. You don't have to know what you're doing ahead of time to enjoy painting. You just have to get started and not judge yourself, and accept whatever you do with a sense of wonder. |
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