A CREATIVE PRACTICE FOR EVERYONE WHAT IS INTUITIVE, PROCESS-BASED ART? Intuitive, process-based watercolor means that we create from a place of no expectations of how our finished artwork will look. Instead of planning out our work which can increase our perception of failure if it doesn’t turn out as we expected—we operate from a safe place of simply appreciating a moment in time by playing with colorful paints, a beautiful brush, and a lovely textured paper. We might have a point of inspiration, but when we pick up the brush to paint there are no rules or references to copy. This kind of color-play is a safe way to pay more attention to the elements of chance, the way a fluid medium like watercolor flows, mixes, and mingles on the paper, creating such beautiful and surprising results that it often feels like the painting created itself. The lessons in this book provide a method to attend to the more intuitive, no-expectation side of creativity that leads to spontaneous play, instead of a more step-by-step approach to art making. I have created these lessons especially for the many people who crave some kind of art practice in their lives, but do not want to spend the time to really dive deeply into traditional drawing and painting methods. I have also created these lessons for those who feel afraid to try a new art practice, because they fear they won’t be good enough. With my lessons, there is no such thing as being good enough. We all sit down to paint with a humble and clumsy heart that is open to the remarkable possibilities of simply letting our paints dance together on the page. THE FOUR GUIDING PRINCIPLES OF OUR CREATIVE PRACTICE ONE Honor and Appreciate this Moment in Time and Your Tools and Materials TWO Show Up Every Day THREE Setting Your Intentions, Inspiration, and Two-Fold Joy FOUR Scatter Your Joy Far and Wide THE LESSONS The instructions are not step-by-step as you might find on other books about watercolor, and they are introduced by philosophies and thoughts to help you open your head, hands, and heart to exciting new possibilities. You can choose to explore the lessons in any order, but I recommend starting your journey with the first lesson, Beginner’s Mind, Beginner’s Heart. You may also choose to repeat this lesson often as time allows; it’s a truly beneficial lesson to get us past the “not good enough” hurdle. Remember to keep your time commitment short and your tools and materials simple while you are making your creative practice a regular part of your everyday life. If you can complete these lessons in twenty-one days or even a month’s time, I have no doubt that you will have made your creative practice a daily habit and will soon be looking for more time every day to explore this new treasure. LESSON SEVENTEEN PERSEVERANCE Whenever we endeavor to learn a new skill or create a new and positive habit in our life, we may eventually end up hitting the wall of self-criticism. We may feel we’re not good enough and may even consider giving up. This is the very time when the most growth might be just around the corner, if we would only persevere. We have all experienced this in one way or another, and hopefully we did push forward and then realized how close we really were to learning that skill or making that good habit stick. LESSON TWENTY FREE FLOW The element of chance is something to celebrate when it comes to watercolor. No other medium can capture the fluid magic we can achieve when we allow the paints to run together, dance, and mingle. In this lesson we are going to use a new tool, the common drinking straw. I keep a drinking straw in my jar of paint brushes for when I want to breathe the winds of change into my paintings. I think you will find a beautiful sort of freedom in this technique. LESSON TWENTY-ONE LESS CAN BE MORE The circle is an everyday shape that we can find almost everywhere we look, but it is also a profound symbol that can represent wholeness and completion. In this final lesson, let’s go back to the first project we did together and remember the beauty of beginner’s mind, but instead of expressive lines across the paper we will close those lines into one of the most beautiful shapes of all.
✔ Author(s): Kateri Ewing
✔ Title: Watercolor Is for Everyone: Simple Lessons to Make Your Creative Practice a Daily Habit - 3 Simple Tools, 21 Lessons, Infinite Creative Possibilities (Art is for Everyone)
✔ Rating : 4.6 out of 5 base on (323 reviews)
✔ ISBN-10: 1631598597
✔ ISBN-13: 9781631598593
✔ Language: English
✔ Format ebook: PDF, EPUB, Kindle, Audio, HTML and MOBI
✔ Device compatibles: Android, iOS, PC and Amazon Kindle
Readers' opinions about Watercolor Is for Everyone by Kateri Ewing
Melody Blake
The plot was incredibly well-crafted, with twists and turns that kept me hooked until the very last page. It was impossible to predict what would happen next.
Josephine Alvarez
I'm already planning to reread this book. It's one of those stories that you can revisit again and again, discovering new layers of meaning each time.
Kara Snyder
The characters in this book felt like old friends, and I was sad to say goodbye to them at the end. It's a testament to the author's talent for creating memorable and relatable personas.
