It’s interesting to me. I always knew I wanted to get into painting, and I flirted with it a few times in the last couple of decades, but could never maintain any sort of momentum.
When I was a kid I got some oil painting lessons. I was probably around age 13 to 16. It’s funny to think that at that point I might have aimed for a career in the fine arts. Who knows what could have happened.
Around 2018 an 19 I became very interested in watercolors. I had messed around with it in my sketchbooks, but not to great effect. I drew stuff, because that was my thing, and painting seemed at best a support skill. I was too busy drawing and inking stuff for assorted clients to give it too much thought.
But, as I said, around 2018 I kind of got obsessed with painting. I remain so. I tried taking a watercolor class at the Art Center, and it was not a good fit. I took an acrylic class there too, and that went well, but watercolor remained my fave.
I was no prodigy. I did not begin with great talent and promise. I was not even particularly good at it. In a way, that made it more fun, because if it was easy I might have gotten bored. At best, I’ve made it to a journeyman level, but that’s probably stretching the truth a bit.
I still struggle with watercolor. I feel like I run the risk of screwing up with every painting, and I push my boundaries on each one. Every single picture feels like it’s going to fly off the rails at some point, and end in the rubbish bin.
This is why I try to finish every piece. Unless it goes truly pear shaped, I finish it, because what I hated about a painting can sometimes end up as what I love about it.
I’m not big on letting the watercolor dictate to me what I can do. I have a vision for each picture, and if the medium bucks me then I double down and try to achieve what I intended.
I won’t call myself self-taught. I watched a lot of Youtube videos, and have read many books and articles on the medium.
I hope you enjoy what I do.