When I began to get back into painting watercolors I realized I had to decide how I was going to paint. I had to decide what my style would be. So…how should I paint? There are literally thousands of phenomenal watercolor artists…past and present. I didn’t take long to realize that what I needed to do was to discover what my style really is.
Watercolor, like any medium of artistic endeavor, begs for a declaration of style. Name a great artist and you will soon realize that each and everyone of them has an unique style. Hell…we learned that in those art appreciation classes we took in class to get hours and an easy grade to boost our overall GPA.
What you will see here is that process being revealed as I post my watercolors. I’m telling my story…but how do I tell that story?
What I’ve discovered is that you have to paint boldly and keep painting boldly until that style slowly begins to reveal itself. There’s no room here, as in life, to be timid or shy. Discovering your painting style is like life…you paint, you reflect and hopefully learn from your mistakes or failures. And the question of long ago is just as pertinent today…the unexamined life isn’t worth living.
The kicker in this process is that you find yourself overwhelmed by what gets revealed about who you are in this process. You very quickly hit that “Aha…” moment where you say, “My painting style is my life-style.” How I paint is how I live my life. And is this not true of any profession we are in? It always comes down to our “mythos” our beliefs about ourselves and the world in which we live. We are after-all story-tellers. And isn’t every story ever told grounded in what we believe?
So maybe the question I need to ask is not “What is my style?” but rather…”What is my mythos?” For when it becomes clear what I believe about this world and myself, then my style of painting will emerge…or maybe more aptly put…will reveal itself.
How should I paint? Look inward and deep.