New Painting

Here is a new watercolor I just finished.

Early Morning Instagram

The Sea

I've been spending a lot of time at the shore lately and have been working on some abstract watercolors inspired by the sea. Here are a couple of them.

Limits

"Telling yourself you have all the time in the world, all the money in the world, all the colors in the palette, anything you want - that just kills creativity."

-Jack White

This quote is so true. In art, the thought that you can make anything under the sun, is almost paralyzing. Sometimes, people need limits. It's like being out in the middle of a field and afraid to move, verses being on a path in the woods and able to walk for hours. When I was in art school, nothing sparked my imagination like an assignment. It was like solving a problem. I've seen it in my students as well. If you throw a bunch of art materials on the table and tell kids to make anything, they will soon grow bored and some won't be able to start at all. I've even had a kid crawl under the table once cause he couldn't handle all the freedom. (He was a particularly rigid case, but a great drawer). Anyway, I think this is an interesting aspect of human behavior. Today I'm going to put some limits on myself and see what happens.

iPhone Inspiration

Here are some photos I took with my iPhone of the water in my parents' back yard. Could inspire some new paintings.

Working...

Been working on some new ideas. I'm anxious to see where it leads to.

Improvement

I thought this design could use a little definition so I pulled an old art teacher trick and outlined everything in black ink. I think it looks better.