When I began my journey in watercolors, it was the summer where I went from age 10 to 11. My step-monster (dad's second wife) was trying to channel my energy and bad behaviors (I was a rambunctious child with poor social skills, I am told). She introduced me to watercolors, and specifically I worked with a heavy rust-colored red a lot. I remember the smell of the paper and really enjoying the flow of the colors onto the page and watching the water do it's own thing with it. Despite all the other crap that my step-monster created for me, she gave me two gifts. One of them was a love of watercolors/art and the encouragement I needed to create. The second was a gift of resilience that I could not appreciate until I was about 23 years old.
Today, I think of her and that rust colored red, as I spent the day of Independence at my dad's house with his third wife. They have a wonderful home and host us for dinners frequently. Despite the heat, we all went outside and played cornhole and had a few drinks. I decided to absorb that rusty red barn into a painting, as I swapped my paintbrush for bean bags off and on. The roof was beautiful, but difficult. I really thought I had it under control but I ended up using a little too much color where it should have been light. I used this fun little travel-size watercolor Strathmore 500 series watercolor travel journal 8x5, cold press. Sakura Koi and aquabrushes.
This was one of the few times since the pandemic that I got to spend with my dad's side of the family where everyone was happy and enjoying themselves. It really felt like maybe things were headed back towards being somewhat normal. Let's hope.
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