There are so many different factors that really matter when considering where one may be--environment is absolutely one of the most important. Some such things are sometimes overlooked when a person gets used to environmental factors, such as moisture. This can have a lasting impact on how watercolor paints are used, but it turns out that there is a true irony to my use of watercolor. Having been in Idaho most of my adult life, and only visiting other desert-like places for fun, I had taken some of those environmental factors for granted. Let me back up, so that it can be explained.
Growing up in the high deserts of Eastern Oregon and Western Idaho, there are some issues with drought. Those are regular things. What many people might not know, is that the water quality and it's access is something of a privilege. Water I grew up with was from a well. A well that went dry or went bad, not sure which. I will give an example, though. A drop or spill of the water left on a counter top would dry and leave a white chalky powder. Eventually it gummed up the water heater. The faucets. The plumbing entirely. I don't know how long I consumed this water as it became increasingly contaminated with elements like arsenic, but it was likely years. By the time the water stopped running, I can tell you the term water-insecure and food-insecure are not good enough words to describe my experiences. This resulted in many negative things, like urinary tract infections and serious levels of dehydration regularly. When the water was still running, drinking it felt like drinking a brick, it was heavy. I was so hard that it dried my skin and scalp so badly that layers of chunks of dead scalp skin as big as my palm were flaking up and under my hair. A hairstylist cutting my hair expressed concern once on a visit to see my mom. My parents lived about an hour apart, and their divorce and all that is a totally different story.
I was a teen as this was happening, and despite his best efforts, my dad was unable to deal with these issues and take care of us. Eventually, of course, things got better and fast-forward to 2022 and I realize that stuff left an odd kind of trauma. I didn't know it was a trauma until coming to Wisconsin. Here I have found that such a fear of not having water seems downright...foreign. It made me realize that one of the beautiful things of being in a water-abundant place like Wisconsin is that I have a feeling of security that I didn't even know I needed.
I tell this story because today's adventure took me to Orchid Heights Park in Middleton, Wisconsin. From the park, there is a lovely view of a water tower surround3ed by rolling hills, trees, and ponds. It's friggin' November but this particular day was at about 70 degrees Fahrenheit! 70! I anticipate that these nice weather days are numbered, soon it will be too cold to paint outside. I decided it was time to do something big and exciting. I went with a large piece of Strathmore watercolor paper and just had a ton of fun.
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