Hello, friends of watercolor art and me. I am delighted to be bringing another blog to you today. Thanks so much for your support and interest in my watercolor journey. As always, I’m here to inspire you to believe in your own special journey into creativity and self-discovery.

I believe that what we are universally experiencing with COVID can be devastating on a host of levels. Art is one type of therapy that you can explore to help you through these tough times, and I encourage you to try splashing a brush into water and then into pigment. Take a few minutes to watch as the pigment and water mingle on your paper. Just play.

This month I’m taking you once again to Noyo Harbor. I just love going there. I am always inspired. The sights and sounds of the harbor take me back to many wonderful memories we’ve shared as a family.

With the weather warming up and families trying to find a way to entertain their kids, we’ve seen an uptick of tourists heading our way here on the coast. While walking around Mendocino this weekend, I saw this bicycle pileup on the back of this vehicle. It brought a smile to my face. Lucky kids.

We’re all trying to find a way to find balance and joy in the midst of this pandemic. Noyo Harbor is one of the places we like to escape to, and I thought I’d share with you a painting that came as a result of just such an escape.

We came across this glorious scene. The reflections in the water at the back of these boats captured my imagination. After taking many photos, I headed home and to my easel.

There were many ways I could have approached this subject. The original photo is so captivating, with its bold colors and deep tones. What you see is the result of my emotional relationship to the scene, and certainly a different color scheme would have been fun as well.

I’d like to take you on a little tour of the painting and share some of my thoughts about the creation of this delightful painting.

One of the first decisions I had to make was in regards to the background. The original photo is almost black. If I’d zoomed out a bit, I could have gotten some sky. But I was mostly interested in the reflections and wanted to be sure to not distract the eye from them.

I also had fun creating all the wires and poles in the scene. The harbor scene was literally cluttered with poles and wires. In art you have to learn what to leave out as well as what to put in.

I had a lot of fun including some birds in the scene. I apologize for the lack of focus here in this closeup of the seagull, but I hope that being able to really see the detail on him makes up for the blurriness of the photo. There are at least four birds in the painting. See if you can find them.

The reflections in the water were the purpose of the painting. I had fun trying to create the feeling of light and enjoyed mixing color freely to give life to the water.

This painting was a little unusual for me, as I’m usually a dedicated watercolor artist. This time I mixed it up by using a mixed media approach. I used watercolor pencil to create some of the highlights on the boats and also for some of the rigging. I also enjoyed using some oil pastels in the water reflections.

At this point in my discourse, I’d like to just stop and again encourage you on your own journey. When I’m feeling insecure artistically, my husband often says, “Just do it for yourself.” I’d like to pass that wisdom on to you.

Don’t let the expectations or tastes of others spoil your fun. Just doing it for yourself takes off a lot of that pressure that can make you feel like perhaps you aren’t good enough or don’t have as much talent as someone else.

I came across this wonderful quote that underscores this very idea. I share it with you in hopes of lifting your spirits and encouraging you to explore doing what makes you happy.

I hope you enjoy my painting. I did it for myself. I hope you’ve enjoyed my sharing it with you. I don’t ask that you like it or that you desire it or any other such thing. I only ask that you enter for a few moments into my joy.

I had so much fun. See if you can find the bucket. Wonder what it’s doing there. The name on the distant boat has very special meaning for me as well. It’s hard to read on purpose. Just a suggestion. Sebastian figured it out straight away.