A Watercolor Winter
I learned how to watercolor last winter.
I was never interested in watercolor. I dabbled with acrylic painting in college but reading, writing, and lettering/calligraphy have always been my lifelong hobbies.
One afternoon around winter solstice, my Aunt unexpectedly gave me a “Let’s Make Art” watercolor kit. It had everything you need, including the supplies and youtube tutorials with step by step guidance to begin.
My first picture was “Be Kind”, which was a fun way to mix lettering and watercolor. I was hooked. I ended up subscribing to the watercolor subscription for the year. To this day, it continues to baffle me, a fire sign finding joy in playing with water. Finding pleasure in being a beginner. Tapping into a new side of me I have never seen in my 40’s. It was an unexpected healing practice to anchor into last winter.
3 nuggets of wisdom I experienced from learning how to watercolor:
#1 Learning something new is fun. I felt like a little kid getting my watercolor kit in the mail and opening the materials to work on. There is satisfaction in not being a pro but a beginner. You have the freedom to not be perfect. And as the teacher often says, give yourself permission to try new things…. what’s the worst that can happen, you throw this piece of paper away and try again.
#2 You don’t know what it really looks like until it dries. The watercolors I create look different when they dry. A beautiful practice in surrendering. A way to let go of controlling exactly how something is going to turn out. As one who finds comfort in controlling things, I began to find comfort in the unknown. I was able to allow some mystery consistently into my life.
#3 Same things, fresh eyes. From painting animals, faces, and landscapes I now look at all these everyday things with new eyes in my own life. I can see them from a painter’s perspective. The shapes, the range of colors, the shadows and which direction the light is coming from. It is like the blinders on my eyes opened a tiny bit wider. I appreciate the fresh perspective to enjoy my surroundings without changing anything but my thoughts about them.
This winter season, can you find a hobby to anchor into? Try something you have never done before to help you have some fun, see things from a new perspective, and allow the uncertainty and mystery of these times to be okay.
We will be okay,
Meg
