April's 30 days of art: Day 5

Watercolors are paints that are alot like the little paint trays you used in first grade, you know the ones with the brush and circles of colors all in a row. The only difference in the ones that I used in first grade and the ones I use now, is that the ones I use now have alot more pigment in them.

I have not always been in love with watercolor painting. But when our first monkey was born I saw how impractical it would be to keep out a wet oil painting, that takes days to dry. I could just see Merritt taking a finger and dragging it up and down and all around a freshly finished painting and then running around the house finger painting everything in sight!! So I opted to paint more with watercolors because, they are small, portable, easy to get out and put away, dry fast, and clean up with water.
I still love oils paints but they will have to wait until all my kiddos are a bit older.

Some people have asked which do I like more oils or watercolors. I like them both. They're so completely different like lasagna and icecream, they're both great, just different.

One of my very first and still one of my favorite watercolor artists is Roland Lee. I took a watercolor workshop from him about 5 years ago and it was amazing. What I liked best about the workshop was that Roland paints some of the most incredible watercolor paintings, but isn't afraid to share all his painting secrets. He was kind, down to earth, a great teacher and honestly wanted his students to succeed at painting at whatever level of skill they were at.

 I remember during one of our breaks during the workshop he came up to me and asked what was I hoping to get out of his workshop. I almost wet myself, even though I had gone to art school. I had been a stay at home mom for a few years and was honestly scared to death to paint anymore! I don't remember exactly what I told him, I just remember I wanted to be there and learn as much as I could, but at the same time be invisible because I was sure EVERYONE there was a better painter than me. After talking with me for a while and asking lots of questions (because I wasn't about to tell him what a weeny I was!) The advice he gave me I have never forgotten. He told me not to be afraid to paint, that he still had days when he wadded up the painting his was working on and threw it away. Art is in the process not necessarily in the product, and that I had talent and needed to use it. Simple as that.

Out of all my art teachers in college, I never once had a teacher sit down and say any of that to me. It meant alot, and when I haven't painted for a long time and get too chicken to try because I think I'll fail, I remember what he told me and get to work.

Roland does a workshop ever so often in Europe and they travel around painting the countryside, one of these years it's my dream to go to that workshop! A girl can dream right?

Here are a few of his paintings that are my personal favorites.

    
You can see more of his beautiful paintings on his website www.rolandlee.com I promise you're in for a treat.