Saturday mornings I join a group to paint. In the last year I evolved from being a participant to leading the new artists and I have gone back to the start of my journey, remembering the first steps and techniques I learned and sharing these.
We explored dry brush strokes and then, as Remembrance Day was coming near I was inspired to work the group through painting a simple poppy field.
This got me thinking again of what my own journey has come to - how many brush strokes it takes to find my voice, my way of expressing my art. I continued to work on this concept to see if I could find an image that expresses what I want.
"What is a voice? Your voice is a unique and recognizable artistic style that is distinctly your own; your inspiration, your materials, techniques, themes and color palette all working together in a way that looks like it comes from you and no one else."
Finding my voice is a conscious process. It is both remembering the basics, my first steps and looking to how these brush stokes, washes and blends speak to me. It is taking the time to do warm ups, to test ideas and to let the ideas flow. It is sheets of paper with splashes of colour, sometimes with intent and other times just to see what happens. It is being willing to make a mess.
So I try again, a field of poppies, but with changes.
When I paint I find I am becoming more thoughtful, the more present I am in the process the more I enjoy it. And I look for what I like about the image, what I find inspired, and my voice.
When paintings scream
Watercolour doesn't always do what you want it to. That is what I love about it. Sometime the paint has its own voice.
When I know what I want to express and blend my voice with the voice of the pigments and their movement then the image comes to life and I hope you can hear it scream.
We remember
Today on Remembrance Day. I hope that my art helps us focus on the freedom we have to express ourselves. To have our own voice.
Take some time to be thoughtful, to be present, and to be humbled by the sacrifices that allow us to speak freely with our creative and diverse voices.
"Anguish" the poppy watercolour for Remembrance Day expresses it perfectly, beautifully done!