Don't Sweat the Small Stuff
Published in Watercolor Artist, April 2008

I am always puzzled when someone asks me how I developed my loose painting style, because the word "developed" implies intention. My painting style isn't something I sought out; it's simply a reflection of my personality and artistic taste. To me, painting represents the opportunity for emotional release, and in my work that translates into strong brush statements and simplified patterns.

I realized early on that the suggestion of a single stroke can have more visual impact than carefully boned-in multiple strokes. In fact, I found that the more time I spent on getting a painting "just right," the more likely it was to go flat on me, losing its power and freshness. As I like to remind my students: A fresh yet slightly false statement is better than a tiresomely truthful one. And since watercolor demands freshness over exactitude, it's the perfect medium for this type of approach.

One simple way I keep my landscape paintings loose and fresh is to focus on shapes, and there are at least three ways I do that: by combining shapes, concentrating on the outside edges of shapes and assigning distinct values to the shapes within the four planes of a landscape. Try these techniques in your next painting for a more lively and spontaneous image.

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