Challenging Myself to Paint Water

When we moved earlier this year, our new home did not have a place for a pottery studio or kiln, so I focused on continuing to develop my painting skills. I really enjoy working with watercolor because this medium is challenging but also exciting because the paint always does something different making every piece unique. 

It is important to challenge ourselves as artists so we can improve our skills and continue to develop new ones, but we must also be okay when our creations do not turn out exactly the way we expect them too. Artists are human beings and we are not perfect. Our creations are a piece of us, a reflection, so we should celebrate the imperfect.

Painting water is very challenging and I had never attempted something so difficult. Over the Thanksgiving holiday I took on this challenge to push myself and selected a beautiful picture of a sea turtle as my reference. I am very happy with the finished piece and enjoyed painting the turtle and the reflections in the water. The water itself was super challenging and I am looking forward to adding additional references with water to my practice in the coming year to improve my skills in this area.