Getting inspiration outside the watercolor

 I wasn't always a watercolor artist. It is my biggest passion, but I also enjoy photography, movie, and video games. When I was working on video game art, we often told to research for visual inspiration through many different sources. I was told that if I only referencing from other video games, I am getting a distill downed source. Venture outside the medium you are working with is often a good thing to do.

 Last week I watched Bladerunner 2049, and was blown away by the beautiful cinematography by the legendary Roger Deakins. It gave me so much inspiration for composition and imagery. I also learned a lot about lighting and scale by study and looking at many photographers' work. There are so many things out there that we can study and learn from, but the biggest inspiration that's available for all of us is the nature! 

 We are in autumn now. It is my favorite season in the pacific north west. Mostly because of the beautiful colors and the misty atmosphere that's perfect for watercolor. Just a few days ago I spent some time around the city just to enjoy all the beautiful autumn scenery that the city has to offer. I was inspired and my visual library was stimulated. I took several photos for reference. While most of them won't make into a painting, all the visual elements in the photos will triggers my memory. These visual memories will find their way into my paintings. 

 One thing about being an artist is that we don't have to limit our self to the medium and the subject of our choice. If you only look at other watercolor artists work, you are only drawing inspiration from others vision. While it is improtant to learn from other artists, inspiration can come from anywhere. They can often come from your everyday life if you look carefully. A good painter takes needs to develop skill, but a good artist needs to enrich their visual library. So if you are not painting or busy working, go out side and look around, really look and soak it in. You might be surprise how much you can learn and receive outside of other watercolor paintings.

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Live demo via internet

 We are fortunate to live in the generation with advance technology. As mentioned from my last blog post, I have set up my computer capable for live streaming. So far I had 2 live demo. One private session for my workshop students from my course, and one public session for everyone. It was a wonderful, yet stressful experience. Even though I don't physically see the people around me, I know they are watching. The pressure was real, I had to explain what I am doing as well as pulling off a decent painting. However, I had a great time interacting with people in real time. Although I prefer to paint at home alone and completely focus on my painting, hearing people telling me how much they've learned and enjoy is very rewarding.

 Giving out small tips on painting with blog post is nice, but live demo capable of so much more. I can show you things visually and in context! Quite often when we learn something new, we are not sure how to apply it in our own way. The live demo fill that gap wonderfully. My last live painting demo took about 90 minutes. With that 90 minutes I was able to share things before, during and after the painting. I was able to touch on the subject such as creating atmosphere, working on layers, and some visual language. The best thing about live demo is I can answer your question in real time! That makes it more than a demo, but also a Q&A session. 

 I encourage you to join my next live demo. I am planning to do it once every other week. Most likely Wednesday evening. I know it will be too late for some people in different timezone, so let me know what time is ideal for you? I will plan for a better time after I gather people's preference.