How it started…
If you were to ask me a few years ago whether I would be starting a website where I share my painting process and random thoughts, I would probably have given you a weird look. But here we are. So how did I get started with this whole painting thing?
I’d like to say that I was at an art museum and suddenly had an epiphany while staring at a masterpiece and thought “I could do that.” But that’s not what happened. Me starting to paint was an instance of the internet knowing me better than I knew myself. You know what I’m talking about, where you are thinking about some new article of clothing or some gadget you want and suddenly all of your advertisements are from a variety of companies you have never heard of with the solution to your problem. In this case I got an ad for a company called Let’s Make Art. Now I want to say that it was random, but we know it’s not. Various algorithms are constantly analyzing and dissecting all of our searches. I could whine about how society is deteriorating one meme at a time, but I love a mindless scroll as much as the next person.
Let’s Make Art Tutorial: Beetle February 2020
I must have mentioned this perfectly placed ad during some passing conversation because for Christmas in 2019, my parents got me a three month subscription to Let’s Make Art (LMA) along with the basic supplies you need to get started with the subscription (painting tray and two paint brushes: a round size 2 and a round size 6). The way the subscription works is that you get a box that has everything you need to complete four watercolor projects. This includes watercolor paper, liquid watercolor (which I didn’t know was a thing), graphite paper, paper instructions and project photos and then there are free online watercolor tutorials via their YouTube channel. If you haven’t heard of this company, check them out. I think they are delightful. I say that like I know them, because when you watch a YouTube video once a week for three months, you kind of feel that way. I was excited. So excited… that the January box and the February boxes arrived on their subscription schedule and sat collecting dust.
But one night (not until sometime in February 2020) I dragged them out. I was home alone, bored, probably scrolling on my phone. I decided to pull out the box and the supplies and try something. Completing the first one is still a significant memory. It was the Beetle project from January 2020. I was/ am so proud of that Beetle. It doesn’t matter that he’s a little blotchy, he was mine, and I was hooked. Each week, I got out all of my supplies and watched Sarah Cray (IYKYK) teach me about watercolor.
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Little did I know that in a couple months that the world was about to seemingly implode. I was lucky that as an essential worker (childcare at the time), I was lucky enough to keep my job for the duration of the pandemic. Watercolor became a bright spot when everything shut down and everybody was stuck inside by themselves. I’m not going to lie, it kept me sane during an insane and stressful time in the world.
Lets Make Art: Lemons Tutorial February 2020
I was so hooked that I extended my subscription and started doing some of the archived projects. For a while LMA was my main watercolor fix, so much so that I still have a giant binder of all of the projects and outlines I accumulated. Somewhere along the way I decided to start following artists on Instagram, and then I started to see what other tutorials are available on YouTube (surprise, a lot!), and then I terrifyingly posted my first post on my very own art Instagram page (go find it, it’s a very regal looking LMA goose!) and then I even got a couple other paint brushes, and then some tube paints, then I found art podcasts, started painting my own stuff… you can see where this is going. I scrolled back through my Instagram before writing this and it makes me smile, not only because it’s funny to see those first project, but it’s fun to see how far I’ve come in a few years, but it is even more exciting to think about where I might be in the next couple years if I stick with it, or what direction my creativity might go. This blog and this website is how I’ve decided I want to document my progress. My hope is to share what I’m working on and learning and maybe give you some resources along the way. At a minimum, I hope you’ll be entertained by my inner dialog.
Until next time…
Let’s Make Art: Hummingbird Tutorial February 2020