Emma Block - Watercolor Life: 40 Joy-Filled Lessons to Spark Your Creativity

For my two boys, Alex and Herbie, my husband and my son.

I have loved watercolors for a long time. After moving past poster paint and finger paint, watercolors were the first proper paint I used as a child. They are at once so accessible yet contain such depths and complexities that I am still learning. As much as I love to paint with watercolors, I possibly love teaching other people to paint with them even more! Seeing the transformation in a person who thought they werent creative or artistic suddenly find joy in the application of paint and the swirling of colors is just magical. Seeing people who lack confidence in their creative abilities create paintings they are truly proud of is so special. My painting projects are designed to be accessible to all. No one is too much of a beginner to pick up a brush and start painting with the help of my book. They are perfect for people who havent painted since they were a child; people who used to paint but have lost confidence; people who want to paint with their friends, their family, their kids. If you want to unwind and enjoy some time painting, this book is for you.

I wrote this book during the 2020 global pandemic. I have always known how soothing and calming painting with watercolors was for me and others, but this year I truly saw the impact it could have. People turned to painting to distract themselves, to occupy themselves, to calm and restore themselves, and to give themselves a mindful moment away from their worries. In this book, I hope to build on my first book, The Joy of Watercolor, and focus on technique in more depth, helping you to build confidence and skills and find even more joy in painting with watercolors.

I often find that people are waiting for permission to paint. They might say, I would love to paint if I had the time, or if I had the space, but usually its fear holding people back. The fear that the painting might not be good and will be a waste of time and paper, the fear that painting is self-indulgent and there are so many more useful things we could be doing with our time, the fear that we wont be good immediately and will make fools of ourselves. If you are looking for permission to paint, this is it. Whether you are a busy person looking for a creative hobby or perhaps a creative professional looking to learn new skills, give yourself permission to spend time creating. Its never a waste of time or paper. Of course, youll make mistakes; thats normal. Even I make mistakes. I spend time testing techniques and colors, planning compositions, and painting mini-versions of the projects in this book before creating the final pieces. Painting with watercolors is not about perfection; its about enjoying the process, learning by doing, and going with the flow.

If youve been painting for a little while, you might be thinking about finding your own style. How do you find your style, and how do you know if you found it? I think everybody has an innate style, the way everybody has handwriting unique to them. Your handwriting might change slightly over the years, but there is probably something intrinsically you about it that remains. I think painting and drawing are the same; the quality of your line will be unique to you. When Im teaching students, everybody will be painting the same subject using the same materials, yet every persons painting will be different. The way you put a pencil or paintbrush to paper is inherently unique to you. However, there are things you can do to help that natural style emerge.

I encourage you to make these projects your own. I love seeing how people adapt my projects, trying different background colors or compositions. Learn the techniques and skills from my lessons, but dont be afraid to add your own twist. For some people, the aim is to be able to move onto painting their own subjects and compositions, and adapting the existing projects in this book is a good stepping-stone to start doing that. If youre serious about refining your work and finding your style, the most important thing is lots of practice. As well as spending time completing projects from this book, draw and paint subjects from life, and draw and paint subjects from your imagination. The more painting you do, the better; follow your natural instincts and paint things you are naturally drawn to. Dont worry about needing to find your style instantly; it will develop slowly over time with the more painting you do. Even as an established artist who has been working professionally for 10 years, I still find my style develops and changes as my skills improve, as I try new materials, or as I become influenced by new sources of inspiration. Its a constant evolution, so enjoy the journey.

Finding inspiration goes hand in hand with finding your own style. Finding a broad range of influences that reflect your passions and interests will help inform your style and make it unique to you. Some of my influences include midcentury illustration, vintage textile design, the work of Matisse, and old photos and postcards. The things I find that inspire my work the most are travel, people watching, museums and galleries, antiques and vintage shops, and nature. Of course, the things that interest and inspire you are likely to be completely different. I try not to be too influenced by contemporary illustrators. If Im feeling in need of inspiration, I find its always better to go for a walk in the park, visit an exhibition, or browse my old vacation photos rather than go straight to Instagram and Pinterest. Its good to get in the habit of collecting inspiration when you are out and about so you have it in hand when youre ready to start painting. This could be doing quick sketches, making notes in a notebook, or taking a photo of something.