Meandering

So, as I wrote earlier, I've been dipping my brush back into watercolors. I love their fluidity and the immediacy of color I can get. In comparison, when I'm working with acrylics, I often lay down multiple layers of color before I reach the intensity I'm looking for.

I began painting these color "studies" or color "quilt" blocks (as I first thought of them) on 6"x6" watercolor paper. I painted the blocks in blues, greens, and some purple--making each smaller block its own unique shade by mixing different combinations of color. On each piece, I started with the center block, often painting that one center block gold (as in the piece above). Sometimes I added a little irridescent watercolor, making the colors shimmer just a bit.

While I painted these, I thought about traveling life's journeys, navigating the ups and downs, the ins and outs. Some paths are easier to travel than others, but all have something to offer.

I framed a few of these and showed them during Art Crawl. Now a few are available at the Artist Mercantile, located in downtown St. Paul. They are titled "Meandering".

I think these little color blocks will continue to evolve. Already they have morphed into these little pieces that I find quite meditative. In fact, I titled one "Morning Meditation".  Below is a detail from one piece.

The one below didn't quite end up as I wanted (note the bottom right corner), but I thought an appropriate title for this one might be "Zen is a tough bitch to maintain"... Ain't that the truth.