Hi friends
I am sorry for the silence the last couple of days. Have been pondering how best to proceed! But before we return to watercolor, I want to share a belief rooted in an epiphany which evolved for me in the early years of painting
Bottly Talk
This breaks both Truths and truths….
When I started on this journey in my 30’s I read and was told “definitives”. You must put lights on after darks when using pastel. You must limit to 4 values. The “you musts” were never ending. Never have been one to subscribe to a ‘you must’, I went on my merry way discovering as I did so this: There is TRUTH, Truth and truth. TRUTH is understood by that universal spirit some of us call God, some of us call kami, some of us call__________. As a Quaker I seek TRUTH through discernment & questioning for constant revelation. Then there is Truth. This is our science, our craft. Alizarian Crimson will ALWAYS be a blue red and any orange made with it will be duller. Then there is truth – the constructs we each make that feel right to who and what we want to be. In the art world I have found an awful lot of truths trying to be passed off as Truth. You must have gallery representation, you must mat a pastel painting, the Fibonacci Sequence is ideal. No these are not TRUTHS or Truths; they are just truths to some one(s). Aesthetics are truths. Masterful handling of ones craft – is the perspective correct, is the expression of light consistent is Truth.
So many ‘how to paint’ books are about teaching a specific artist’s truth which will result in a lot of artists’ work looking like that work. Always seek the Truth about the physical world. Then look at, study, read about individuals’ truths and treat those truths only as more tools to put into your tool box. Use them when they work for YOUR vision but never ever be limited by them!