The Wild Spirit of Watercolour
Watercolour has a spirit of its own.
‘The medium you are using here isn’t paint; it is water.’
In the moment when I first heard watercolour described in this way, my understanding of this wild and wonderful medium shifted. Something essential clicked into place. I suddenly understood why I love watercolour, why I keep coming back — the enchantment and possibility it offers, its visionary potential, and the journey I am on.
Extract from ‘Elemental’ - new Barn Owl watercolour painting, 16×20”
NOT EVERY ARTIST LIKES WORKING IN WATERCOLOUR
have just come back from two weekends exploring the world of art fairs — the first as an exhibitor at Harrogate Art Fair, and the second as a visitor to Border’s Art Fair in Kelso.
My mind is full of the imaginative work of many different artists: the solid, tactile works of sculptors; the jewel-like vividness of felt and textile art; rich, buttery landscape paintings in oils; bright, daring abstracts in acrylics; portraits, seascapes, wild animals and people strolling down a city street.
It feels like seeing our collective imagination on display — stunning, mesmerising and inspiring all at the same time.
However, after talking to many artists at both fairs, I became aware of a misconception about my chosen medium that I hear again and again. When I said that I work in watercolour, the first thing almost every artist told me was how hard watercolours are, how unforgiving they are, how you cannot make a mistake and simply paint over it as you can with oils and acrylics.
This idea about watercolour never fails to surprise me. I have honestly never had this experience. It isn’t any more or less difficult — but it does ask its artists to take a rather different approach.
ACCESSING A DIFFERENT STATE OF BEING
When I come to my studio to paint, I find that I slip into a different state of being - one that I love. It is a movement away from controlling the outcome and towards allowing something to reveal itself. I don’t come to the page, the water, the brushes and paint with a finished idea in mind. I go with a subject that I want to see emerging. And I show up available for it to be revealed through me.
Somehow, in my journey with watercolour, I have always understood that I am not the one in charge here. Rather, I am in a living collaboration with movement and energy. And this is a gift.
The water is the life that makes the movement and energy happen. Sprinkle and brush water across the page then add a little paint and watch how the water patterns its way across the paper. Blend different consistencies of colour - deep, rich and creamy, with thin tendrils of the most delicate, washy tints - and leave them to interact. Spray the paper here and there so the water moves on unpredictable, energised pathways. Fix the painting here with brush and purpose to catch the detail of an eye, or a flick of wing, then let it flow and move as it wishes over there.
WILD LIFE, WILD MEDIUM
To paint with watercolour is to dance in the wild spirit of it all. It is a case of feeling your way. Of letting go of the need to know.
For me, it is the perfect medium for painting wildlife - wild creatures require a wild medium! As I paint in this way, something about the process re-wilds my own soul - and hopefully continues to do so for the people who welcome my art into their homes.
Full image of the watercolour painting ‘Elemental’
Does any of this resonate for you? Do you find that something in your life - running long, loping miles through the landscape, planting a garden, singing in a choir, writing a book - asks of you this nourishing surrender, this yielding, this co-creative dance of energy and life? I would love to know - drop me a comment below.