Last year for Christmas my daughter Zoe gave me a very generous gift of two sets of SuperShifters by Dreamland Watercolor. These handmade watercolour paints were made with a special mica powder that changed colour depending on the way the light hit the paper. This was most noticeable on black paper which I didn't have at the time or when the paper was curved a bit so that one could see the paint shift colour which was not how one normally displayed a painting. I played a bit with them and then put them aside. Which was sad because Zoe had spent way more than her budget allowed for this magical gift.
This Christmas I was struggling to decide what to do about our work gift exchange. Every year at work we this gift stealing game, and I just didn't have the funds and time to get out of town and find something suitable. My co-workers suggested painting something instead of buying something. I was encouraged that it would be well received. My mind went to Zoe's gift, and I researched animals that had a similar ability in their colouring. The humming bird is well known for it's metallic, colour shifting feathers but I wanted something even more colourful. After some research I chose the European Bee-eater.
I could never have guessed the reaction to my painted gift. The gal who first opened it up fought to the bitter end to get it back when it was stolen from her - more than once.
For me it was a magical gift exchange, thanks to the generosity of my daughter and the encouragement and kindness of my co-workers.
In December I also enjoyed taking a course by Angela Fehr, called the "Heart-Led Artist Pathway". In the course we focused on developing our style, and learned how design is key to an art piece. I realized I had lost something of my early paintings where line was key to my style, and wanted to get back to that. This was a challenge because watercolour is often soft, unlike acrylics, and the line element is elusive. So I decided to blend my love of colour in all it's forms with the use of lines and see what I could come up with.
This year I have completed two more paintings using the SuperShifting paints as well as some added mica powder. While they are not as colourful as my Bee-Eater, and defintely a bit different than some of my other work, they are a part of my journey in 2024 exploring style elements and you know what? I think they are pretty magical.
Those are more than magical. The European Bee Eater is incredible.!!
and -- you, Colette, you are a wonder!😁