Kateri Ewing - Watercolor Is for Everyone

Simple Lessons to Make Your Creative Practice a Daily Habit

KATERI EWING

What if I told you that an astoundingly creative artist is living and breathing inside of you, just waiting to make his or her mark? So many of us are taught from very early on that creating art is only for the gifted and talented. Even though we may long for the experience of using beautiful tools and glorious color, we shy away from trying because we are afraid that our efforts wont create something worthwhile. What if we fail?

How many times have you heard someone say, Im not creative. I cant even draw a stick figure! Perhaps you have even said this yourself. My response? Why would you want to draw a stick figure when you can dip your brush into juicy pools of color and watch them dance and mix and mingle on paper? Im here to guide you through twenty-one intuitive watercolor lessons designed to help you discover your own unique artist within, all while creating works of beauty that you will joyfully send out into the world.

A few years ago, I was giving a workshop about intuitive watercolor to about fifteen adults. As an innately shy public speaker I am always at a loss as to how to begin. That day, just the right words came into my mind as I opened my mouth: Intuitive, process-based watercolor is a way for every single person to enjoy a creative art practice in his or her life. Its for everyone, master or brand-new beginner alike. Mostly, its a way to teach watercolor painting to those who have a desire to create, but who dont think they can learn how.

Almost immediately a woman in the room raised her hand. Thats me! she said. There was some laughter, and also a lot of nodding in affirmation. It was then that I really understood that most people will never commit to a long course of study to be a watercolor painter, but that doesnt mean that they cannot enjoy a meaningful creative practice with paints, brush, and paper. On that day, Watercolor Is for Everyone was born.

How good do we have to be at something to benefit from it, for it to bring us joy? As so many of my students have discovered, we can be eternal beginners and find all the satisfying benefits and joy we could ever hope for in a creative practice. Its also good to know that there is strong scientific evidence that those who enjoy a creative practice as a regular part of their lives also enjoy many benefits to their health and well-being, including a more positive outlook on life. This has certainly been true in my own experience. My daily intuitive watercolor practice has been a positive, constant companion through many of my greatest struggles. It is the very reason I began teaching. I want everyone to feel the same kind of benefits that I have known.

You may have arrived at these pages with a secret desire to unlock your creative potential. Perhaps you have always wanted to paint but were told long ago that you just didnt have the talent. Maybe you are here as a professional artist who feels your work has gone stale and become methodical, and you are looking to freshly tap into your intuition. Maybe you are somewhere in between. Wherever you are coming from, I welcome you to this space as someone who is continuing to learn that the best place to begin any creative endeavor is with a beginners mind. We are all beginners at something and, for the lessons in this book, being a beginner is the very best thing to be.

Welcome, welcome.
Now lets get started!

WHAT IS INTUITIVE, PROCESS-BASED ART?

Intuitive, process-based watercolor means that we create from a place of no expectations of how our finished artwork will look. Instead of planning out our workwhich can increase our perception of failure if it doesnt turn out as we expectedwe operate from a safe place of simply appreciating a moment in time by playing with colorful paints, a beautiful brush, and lovely textured paper. We might have a point of inspiration, but when we pick up the brush to paint, there are no rules or references to copy. This kind of color-play is a safe way to pay more attention to the elements of chance, the way a fluid medium such as watercolor flows, mixes, and mingles on the paper, creating such beautiful and surprising results that it often feels like the painting created itself.

The lessons in this book provide a method to attend to the more intuitive, no-expectation side of creativity that leads to spontaneous play, instead of a more step-by-step approach to art making. I have created these lessons especially for the many people who crave some kind of art practice in their lives, but do not want to spend the time to dive deeply into traditional drawing and painting methods. I have also created these lessons for those who feel afraid to try a new art practice because they fear they wont be good enough. With my lessons, there is no such thing as being good enough. We all sit down to paint with a humble and clumsy heart that is open to the remarkable possibilities of simply letting our paints dance together on the page.

When you were a child, I imagine that playing with colorful paints and crayons was a joyful and spontaneous pastime. Why is it that somewhere along the way we lose this joyful and carefree approach to art making and instead become judgmental, allowing the inner critic or the opinions of others to dampen our instincts to make art? With intuitive watercolor practices, each effort holds an unexpected element of surprise. We have no way of knowing how it will turn out. Its not about how our paintings should be, but simply about the act of creation itself. The wonderful thing is, our results from intuitive work are always beautiful.

The tools for our creative practice are simple: an exquisite piece of paper, a well-made paintbrush and a kaleidoscope of colors in our watercolor paint box. No matter your budget, there are beautiful tools waiting for you. In this section, we will learn how to choose them and how to care for them. Always keep two things in mind: Quality over quantity, and less is more. Simplicity in our tools allows for freedom of expression without the confusion of wondering which materials to choose each time we sit down to paint.