Painting with a Rainbow of Textural Watercolors

When the world gets a little too heavy to bear, we artists have always found refuge and peace in art. We seek a patch of blue sky, a breath of fresh air, a walk in the world that inspires us to paint, and we set a hand to the brush and seek to give ourselves to the movement of paint and water. We live for a short time in our creative inner landscape, and it's an oasis that feeds the soul.

I don't always feel joyful and free when I paint, but that's the mindset I look for when I paint. I do this by choosing to focus on the process over the product; it's not about turning out a perfect painting, but about creating a nurturing painting process. It's about making one beautiful color play on the paper, and then adding another, and another! Painting really is as simple as that.

This week I found myself inspired again by a pair of perfectly paired pigments, well, more than a pair, but I liked the alliteration!

Daniel Smith's mineral based Primatek pigments add a pop of texture to a watercolor painting, and while I try not to cover the painting with Primateks because the sedimentary texture can overpower the scene, using it to add texture around the key points of the painting can really draw the eye to that area.

For this week's video, I'm using Piemontite Genuine as a real showstopper. It's a rusty violet/red/brown with a lovely warm glow, and mixed with Cobalt Blue, it gets even better! But let me show you...watch the video HERE:

Show me what you paint inspired by this lesson by using the hashtag #angelafehrtutorials when you post your painting on social media; I might just share it on my Instagram account!