Same Hand, New Direction

I think I've decided to go in a little bit of a different direction with my art.

I've been at a bit of a crossroads lately, mostly trying to decide whether I want to keep watercolor as my primary medium or really jump back into acrylics. I still love acrylics. There's a series I've had in my head for a long time that I always pictured in acrylic, and part of me still does.

The biggest thing stopping me is honestly space and mess. My art desk is a dream for watercolor. It's glass, it cleans up easily, and I love working there. But my office is not really the place where I want paint flying around everywhere, and I don't particularly love painting in the garage either. So for now, I'm thinking I may just stop overthinking it and try this series in watercolor.

Because really, that's the beauty of being an artist and a hobbyist. I can do both. I can paint it in watercolor now, and if I still feel like it belongs in acrylic later, I can revisit it.

Today I finally had one of those moments where I thought, okay, enough thinking about it. Let's just do it.

I'm not going to say what the series is yet. I've decided I want to keep some things to myself until they've had a chance to fully become something. I think there's something really nice about being able to work quietly on an idea and then share it once there are several pieces together and people can really see the vision.

And I think that's what excites me most about this particular idea. I can actually see it becoming a real series.

Normally, I work very impulsively. I get an idea, I paint it, and then it's out of my system. I may do one or two pieces that go with it, but after that I usually want to move on. This feels different. I can already imagine a lot of pieces living together without all looking the same.

That's always important to me because I love art in groupings. I rarely want one piece hanging by itself. I like two or three pieces that feel connected, but I don't want them to look like twins. I want them to feel more like cousins or best friends. Like they obviously know each other and belong in the same room, but they still have their own personalities.

That's what I want this series to feel like.

The other thing I've been thinking about a lot lately is style. I get told pretty often that people can tell a painting is mine before they even see my name on it, and I don't think I fully appreciated what a compliment that was until recently.

Even when I change subjects, I can still see myself in the work. I painted a man today, which is something I don't do very often, and I actually laughed because somehow he still looked like he belonged in the same little world as all of my women. It's the way I draw faces, the way I shape eyes and noses, the lines I leave loose, the colors I reach for. It's just the way my hand works.

And I really love that.

(Side note: everyone keeps saying this looks like my Dad. It really does. My Dad was more blonde though)

I never want my art to feel generic. I want there to be something distinctly mine about it, even when I'm experimenting or moving in a different direction. I think I'm finally starting to recognize that I already have that, and I'm really proud of it.

So I'm going to lean into that with this new series and see where it takes me.

I probably won't show any of it until I have several pieces finished. In the meantime, I'll still be working on my miniatures and some other little projects I've already started. I like posting art regularly, and I don't think that part of me is going anywhere.

But behind the scenes, I'm going to be working on something new, and I'm really excited about it.

Hopefully in a few days I'll have enough pieces finished that I can finally show what I've been seeing in my head.

And hopefully they make as much sense on paper as they do in my head.

One last art note before I run to get my kids: the watercolor set I bought recently is freaking amazing. It is definitely a step above my Koi set and still below my Winsor & Newtons, but for the price, I am seriously impressed. The case is sturdy, there are tons of colors, and I've really been enjoying it. I think it was somewhere around $40 to $45, and I'm going to link it tonight along with the mop brushes I've been using because those are amazing too.