Summer Cherries in Watercolor

"Summer Cherries in Watercolor" 5 by 7, on Hot Press

I know what you're thinking, "That painting looks familiar!" I first painted "Summer Cherries" in soft pastel. I had such a wonderful time doing that painting, that I thought I would give it a try with watercolor. Now you must know that I have never done anything like this in watercolor before (I've also never painted on hot press watercolor paper before). All my watercolor paintings have been loose, abstract and painted intuitively. I've never painted anything even close to realism in watercolor before, so I was sure that this wouldn't turn out. But I don't think it's too bad! I admit I got a little carried away with the background (which is supposed to be a wooden board, or deck), but I'm pretty pleased with how the cherries turned out! Even though the background is a little distracting, I don't think it ruins the piece. I don't know what it is, but I really enjoy painting cherries!

I hope you all have a great evening!

Loosening Up

With all of these pastel paintings that I've been doing lately I've been longing for my watercolors! Needless to say I put the pastels away this morning and pulled out my watercolor palette. It was so great being able to loosen up with this painting. I love to paint intuitively with watercolor, and I haven't done it in quite a while.

But I have to say that doing this painting really got me thinking this morning. I've been feeling slightly pressured to pick one medium and one painting style. Other artists suggest that you cannot be taken seriously if your paintings are not done in the same style and with the same medium. I am kind of all over the place as far as mediums and styles go. I don't think that I could just choose one. I love what they all have to offer.

So I decided that I'm just going to keep doing what I'm doing. Art is supposed to be fun, and it wouldn't be if I couldn't try new things all of the time. I suspect that after a while I will get comfortable with one medium or style, but until then I'm going to continue with my creative journey the way I have been. Hopefully you'll come along for the ride! :)