intuitive art – Daily Fiber

One: Honor and appreciate this moment in time, and your tools and materials

Working within your budget, acquire the best tools and materials that you can afford. This means cotton paper, a well made paintbrush and a set of paints in colors that you love.

Two: Show up every day

Art making can become an integral part of your life. Commit to at least fifteen minutes to paint, at a time and in a space where you can be free of distractions.

Three: Set an intention and take inspiration from a place of beauty: poetry, art, music, literature, nature, beautiful objects.

Four: Share your joy. Your daily exercises will be painted on small sheets of paper. Make multiples each day. Give some away to those you love.

These three exercises focus on broad brush strokes, mixing and mingling the paint on the paper, and watching how the colors resolve.

Guiding principles quoted from “Watercolor is for Everyone, by Kateri Ewing.

Home | Kateri Ewing

Today I spent a leisurely afternoon following a tutorial by Kateri Ewing painting this bird. This little bluebird of happiness lived up to his reputation – he brought me happiness in the form of satisfaction with my efforts. I am happy with every detail of my work, except the cluster of blossoms in front of the bird’s left foot. That seems to be a hot mess.

On a more positive note, I highly recommend Kateri’s tutorials. She has a gentle, but enthusiastic teaching style and clearly loves water color painting. You can find the links to her classes here:

CRAFTSY | BLUPRINT | Kateri Ewing

My local library has just acquired her new book, “Watercolor is for Everyone.” I managed to be the first person to check it out. The book is in the how-to genre, specifically, how to develop a daily creative practice. I know there are a ton of this type of book on the market. But this one seemed right for me. I was in immediate need of emotional support for my creative efforts.

Kateri’s book guides the reader through a 21 day program of making intuitive, process-based art. There are no reference images, and very few technical instructions. The most important instruction she gives is that you give up on your expectation for results. Just show up everyday and paint for 15 minutes, minimum, drawing on your feelings and your imagination.

The process is definitely calming and even meditative.

Over the next few posts I will share some of my results from these lessons.