Artists are in many ways just like athletes. We put in long hours practicing and then we practice some more. Or, to put it another way, we have to warm-up before we engage in our art. I’ve discovered, which of course is not news, is that I have to warm-up before I engage myself in the art of watercolor painting.

What do I mean? This painting was done in about 15 minutes…it was my warm-up exercise. When I practice like this I’m getting my mind and body ready…for instance, a field goal kicker does what before trotting unto to the field to attempt a field goal? He’s on the sidelines kicking into a net…over and over again…he’s getting his mind and body ready to kick a field goal. For me, the 15 – 20 minute paintings I do are me on the sidelines kicking into a net.

We also are taught in watercolor to let the watercolor do it’s own thing…as if, there is something magical that watercolor does when we apply a stroke to a piece of paper. Actually, there’s nothing magical about it all. What we are doing in our practice is observing what happens when we work wet into wet or use a dry brush technique. Just like the field goal kicker…we are observing…we are paying attention to what is happening right in front of us as we apply brush to the paper. The magic happens because we practice, we observe and pay attention to what is happening. Wishing we could do better or paint better or work wet into wet doesn’t amount to a hill of beans…as they say, “Practice makes perfect.”

We may not paint the master-piece in our heads…however, we are definitely inching our way towards what makes the master-piece appear before us on the blank sheet of paper staring back at us.

There’s one more reason we benefit from practicing/warming up. It’s kind of like watching basketball players warm up before a game…why do you see? They are at times laughing, smiling or to coin a phrase “Letting it rip.” It may seem like this shouldn’t help…and yet, it does. Why? Because the mind and body are getting engaged for what is to come…playing basketball.

One closing thought…my warm up paintings have no direction or pre-conceived outcome. I simply start throwing paint on the paper…I’m observing what is happening…I’m being pulled to turn loose of too much control and to just “let her rip.” I probably learn more from these warm-up paintings than anything else because I’m paying attention and observing what is happening as it happens. But the main thing I gain is that I learn that for my style of painting…less is more…kind of like a golfer where the golfer with the fewest strokes usually wins.

What are going to do? PRACTICE…PRACTICE…and then PRACTICE some more.

I’m posting this to my blog because I’m afraid I’ll lose this list…it was taken from Dan Scott’s Blog:

“Everything you can imagine is real.”

“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.”

“It takes a very long time to become young.”

“I am always doing that which I can not do, in order that I may learn how to do it.”

“The urge to destroy is also a creative urge.”

“What do you think an artist is? …he is a political being, constantly aware of the heart breaking, passionate, or delightful things that happen in the world, shaping himself completely in their image. Painting is not done to decorate apartments. It is an instrument of war.”

“Bad artists copy. Good artists steal.”

“Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working.”

“If I paint a wild horse, you might not see the horse… but surely you will see the wildness!”

“There is no abstract art. You must always start with something. Afterward you can remove all traces of reality.”

“Painting is just another way of keeping a diary.”

“Computers are useless. They can only give you answers.”

“I’d like to live as a poor man with lots of money.”

“The world doesn’t make sense, so why should I paint pictures that do?”

“We all know that Art is not truth. Art is a lie that makes us realize truth at least the truth that is given us to understand. The artist must know the manner whereby to convince others of the truthfulness of his lies.”

“The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.”

“God is really only another artist. He invented the giraffe, the elephant and the cat. He has no real style, He just goes on trying other things.”

“It took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child.”

“I do not seek. I find.”

“If only we could pull out our brain and use only our eyes.”

“To draw, you must close your eyes and sing”

“Youth has no age.”

“We artists are indestructible; even in a prison, or in a concentration camp, I would be almighty in my own world of art, even if I had to paint my pictures with my wet tongue on the dusty floor of my cell.”

“If I don’t have red, I use blue.”

“People want to find a meaning in everything and everyone. That’s the disease of our age…”

“I paint objects as I think them, not as I see them.”

“I begin with an idea and then it becomes something else. ”

“He can who thinks he can, and he can’t who thinks he can’t. This is an inexorable, indisputable law.”

“Action is the foundational key to all success.”

“When art critics get together they talk about Form and Structure and Meaning. When artists get together they talk about where you can buy cheap turpentine.”

“All art is erotic.”

“What one does is what counts. Not what one had the intention of doing.”

“Every positive value has its price in negative terms… the genius of Einstein leads to Hiroshima.”

As this new year opens up before me, I’ve been reflecting upon my journey as a watercolor artist. Reflecting upon my progress and not, reflecting upon the nature of the beast and reflecting upon what I need to do in 2016 to become a better painter. What I came up with is 4 things:

1. Show Up

Show up. It sounds so simple and yet it requires some attention from us if we are to really show up. We can look around us wherever we are and see people going about their day. The question is, “Have they really showed up?” Showing up isn’t about physical presence, it’s about the totality of our being. Showing up with heart, mind and soul so to speak.

Observe the people around you…now look at their eyes. You will quickly realize that while they are there physically…they are not there at all. Their minds wonder through a maze of to do lists, wishes and problems. Yes, they have show up…but the moment before them is devoid of marvel, wonder and awe. If we want to be prepared to paint, our first task is to “show up.”

2. Pay Attention To What Has Heart & Meaning

Little Sarah’s best friend Emily, who lived next door had just died in a car accident. Sarah’s parents were church goers and so Sarah was use to hearing “church” phrases like…visiting, prayer and time for church. So when Sarah showed up one morning and declared to her mother that she was going “visiting” her mother just smiled and said “Hope you have a good time.”

Sarah’s mother watched as she walked out the front door, purse in tote and heading down the front sidewalk. But much to her concern and worry, she saw Sarah heading straight toward Emily’s house. Thirty minutes later, she saw Sarah walking back from Emily’s house. When she came into the house, her mother tried to act normal…”And how did your visit go?” she asked. “Good.” Sarah replied. “And…and what did you talk about?” she nervously asked. “Oh, we didn’t talk about anything. I just sat in her lap and helped her cry.”

Artist are by nature, story tellers of what has heart and meaning. A great artist learns to connect to the heart and meaning of life that is before them. They are not so much worried about technique as they are about capturing and expressing the heart of the matter. Whatever they paint is an attempt to capture moments that bring tears of joy or tears of anguish…the moments that move others to silence as they observe the finished work.

Technique must be learned…we must practice until we don’t even have to think about it. But in the end, we must always give way to what has heart and meaning in order to bring our paintings to real life.

3. Don’t Judge, Guilt or Shame Anyone…Especially Yourself

Lucy’s mother could hear her daughter’s scream coming from the backyard as she ran to the backdoor. She opened the door to find Lucy standing on the back porch screaming at the top of her lungs “Tiger…tiger…tiger!” As her mother’s eyes followed her daughter’s pointing and shaking finger she saw the charred remains of a fallen tree they had just recently attempted to burn.

She grabbed her daughter’s hand and brought her inside the house and in a stern voice said, “Lucy Marie you go to bedroom right now and you stay in there until you have asked God to forgive you for what you just did!” Head held down, Lucy went into her bedroom…but within seconds she came bounding out of her room. “Lucy!” her mother said…”Did you do what I told you to do?” To which Lucy replied, “Yes…and God said that when he first saw it he thought it was a tiger too.”

There’s an old saying that says “We’ve been ‘should upon’ all our lives.” Judging, guilting or shaming ourselves is something we all know how to do all to well. However, think about it this way…would you rather paint from a place of shame and guilt or paint from a place of joy and wonder?

Beating ourselves up changes very little…being kind with ourselves, being amazed with ourselves and yes, even being excited about what we can do changes everything. So let go of the negative and embrace the positive. We just might be surprised at what happens the next time we paint.

4. Be Open To Outcome…Not Attached

Part of the process of creating art is being able to observe the process of creation within ourselves. It is like we are sometimes on an adventure, wondering what we are going to discover around the next bend in the road. However, all of this wonder and awe is short-circuited often times because we are attached to one and only one outcome. You know the phrase, “happy accident” and you also know how that happy accident can drive up into moments of anger.

All artists start with some point of reference and some point of ending. The true artist understands however that the process of creation is exactly that…a process. True, we try to guide it…nudge it along. But in the end, if we have allowed the “spirit” of the moment to truly inspire us we will find even ourselves amazed at what lies before us when we finally lay down our brush.

When we push…when we restrict our vision…when we want only one result, we end up with a flat painting devoid of all life…absent in heart and meaning. So…let us be open to outcome…and let our painted stories of heart and meaning shine forth.

Hey! I use to paint watercolors. Hmmm…I should setup my studio and start painting again. Setting up the studio was easy…the painting? I figured, what the hell…I’ll paint a few tests paintings and I’ll be off and running. Shut the front door!

It slowly came back to me…how much water to use…on your brush, in the paints and on the paper. And what works best painting wet on wet or dry brush on dry paper? And then, what colors are opaque and what colors are translucent and which goes best with which? And then there are the freaking brushes…some of my brushes were so old they just fell apart when I picked them up. So…had to buy some new ones…but which ones?

And then let’s not forget the lost of time that occurs when you begin painting…you look up and it’s freaking 1:00 a.m. Let me tell you, when I was 37 I could get away with that shit…but at 67…that’s a 2 day recovery period.

I have to laugh at myself….just when I think I have it all figured out…kaboom! Not! Of course, is that not like life….just when you think you have it figured out…kaboom! I think I’ll write a new book entitled “Self-Healing Through Watercolor Painting”.

That’s it for now…this is still an ongoing process…so come back and sit a spell as we spin our stories of the wonders of life as interpreted in watercolors.

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.

It has been a constant amazement how the process of being creative conjures up all kinds of voices. Saw a post on FB today with a picture of crazy Jack Nicholson that said, “I know the voices aren’t real, but they sure do come up with some great ideas.”

What I’ve found is that the voices don’t come up with any great ideas. They are usually all the old tapes we hear over and over again. You know them well…what makes you think you are any good at this…you sure screwed that one up…compared to others, your paintings aren’t that good…and, why do you keep doing this when it’s obvious you have no idea what you are doing?

What I’ve learned in the process is to simple nod my head and smile…and then quickly move on to the real question…what are you going to create today? How are you going to interpret the world in which you live? What is the vision, the mood or the feeling you want to interpret with your painting?

When I can stay focused on these questions the creative energy starts to flow. And so, the second step is to let your imagination loose and let it roam the creative landscape of your mind. Soon an image or colors begin to appear…until finally you are ready to sketch the image on a clean sheet of watercolor paper and let your brushes/paints do their magic.

When I am able to stay focused on this process…the moment right in front of me…something new is created, the voices fall silent and once again something never before seen in the universe springs into life…with my DNA imprinted all over it.

I ask your indulgence as I write this post…you see, I attended my first ever watercolor workshop led by M.E. Bailey and Mike took my brain out, bounced
it off the walls, slammed dunked it into a huge trash can and in general had me having nightmares about “Line, shape, size, direction, color, value and texture.” I seriously had one nightmare where I was being chased by a huge color wheel that was being remotely controlled by Mike who kept laughing every time I had to jump out of the way of this 10ft tall color wheel. Consequently, my brain is fried and I find writing coherent sentences is a struggle at this point…being one day after a full 5 day working workshop.

In all my 67 years, I have never been a part of any learning experience that was so intense, so informative and so enlightening as Mike Bailey’s workshop: Watercolor Beyond the Obvious

I just love those “Aha!” moments in life. Those moments where the puzzle almost puts itself together and all you have to do is sit back and smile. If you’ve been keeping up with this blog you know that I started painting watercolors after a 27+ year hiatus. When you’ve been away from something so long, even though you still remember the basics, it takes some time to get back in the groove.

Getting back into the groove however, is not an automatic process. You have to keep plugging away at the puzzle. You have to keep working the pieces over and over again. You get those first two pieces to fit and there is that rush of excitement. Since there are 678 pieces, the rush soon begins to fade. How am I ever going to get all those pieces to fit? Easy…you just show up every day and get more pieces to fit.

Showing up has nothing to do with feeling like it…showing up is all about one simple task…showing up. You don’t paint because you feel like it or not paint because you’re just not feeling it. No, you just show up…pick up your brush and paint. Showing up doesn’t mean you get a Gold Star…it doesn’t mean you get warm fuzzy feelings. Showing up is just showing up and paying attention to the task in front of you…something which I have to confess I had to relearn.

Show up…you just keep showing up. You pick up the brush and start throwing paint around. Sometimes it looks like progress is being made…sometimes it looks like a dried up turd. But it doesn’t matter…cause nobody is keeping count. You just show up and pick up the brush and throw paint around.

Then it happens, like it did for me today…you get goose-bumps…cause it all suddenly comes together. You can see it…you can almost taste it. A rush of euphoria races through your veins…AHA! To re-write an old song, “I can see clearly now the doubt is gone…it’s going to be a bright, bright sun shiny day…” And you pull out that fresh sheet of white watercolor paper…you setup your paints…you pick up a brush….God, I love those “AHA” moments.

And you know what? Isn’t that what anything in our lives is about? Whether or not we are willing to just show up. We have to show up, fully present and focused to the day that is before us. When we  do…those “AHA” moments will keep coming and coming. So…keep showing my friends…keep showing up. 🙂

Brush Miles…one of the things I’ve learned since starting up my watercolor painting was a remark I got from Mike Bailey. I was in a workshop with him last May and during the course of a conversation one day he told me, “Posey, you need to paint 565 more paintings.” What?

What he meant was is that you can’t improve unless you are willing to spend time at the easel painting. Simple truth and yet difficult to achieve sometimes. Since that conversation I have painted and painted and painted…maybe not yet at 565 paintings…but getting close. What I discovered surprised me.

1. The more you paint (brush miles) the less you have to think about how to paint.
2. The more you paint, the more confident you brush strokes become.
3. The more you paint, the more you want to paint.
4. The more you paint, the more obsessed you become with painting.
5. The more you paint, the less likely you are to make excuses for not painting.
6. And finally, the more you paint the more enthusiastic you are when you paint.