watercolour

One good thing to come from all this pandemic stress of Covid-19 is the opportunity it presents to focus on some creative pursuits. More and more people are turning their hand to some craft based in their homes.  As such, water-cooling has seen a resurgence in materials sales across art supplies stores and evidenced across various social media interpretations of British countryside scenes, despite its painters remaining indoors.

One such artist of Instagram, Ayden Hector, has presented such alluring work, both amateur and professional artists alike are picking up their watercolour pads and paint sets and revising the traditional practice of water coloring.

Through this resurgence, here are four reasons why anyone should take up the once considered quaint practice of water coloring.

1. Day out in the country side

Since Lockdown has been eased across the country, there’s a fantastic opportunity to reengage with the great outdoors and capture a scenic composition into a painting of the great broths landscape.

Taking up a spot in a field, sat under an umbrella and capturing the English countryside in  British summer time is an idyllic scene and makes for relaxing and productive afternoon.

2. Bolster your social media

Friends on social media have inundated their profiles with selfies, pets and babies. It has become a little vacuous and repetitive. If you ever wonder what else your Instagram or Facebook pages could be used for, consider stocking your profile up with pictures your paintings. Or better still, engage in an online artist group and exhibit your work. Not only do you contribute to the platform with something a little more substantive, you also participate in a critical community. Art is to be enjoyed in its public display. It also provokes discussion so this is the perfect way to engage in conversation about your work.

3.Decorate your home or someone else’s

Tired of looking at the same pictures on your wall? Lockdown has given you a sense of tedium to your space?

Making your own interpretations of your landscape whilst taking a day trip with your water coler sets rewards you with a sense of accomplishment that you can admire and display on your own walls.

Better still, if you getting good at it, framed original watercolor paintings make for a fantastic gift! You can show your appreciation to your friends and family with a watercolor of your favorite country walk.

4.Medative pleasures

The simple process of wetting paper to stretch the canvas, building up washes of pigment across your page, adding form with your paint stroke along with extracting pigment by dilution of water.

You soon realize that there is not simply the capture of the subject but an entire universe of mark making and texture experiments when you get the watercolors out.

Discover the calming pleasures of focusing on your brush work and textures out in a field or in the comfort of your home and realign yourself to this creative practice. It’s a simple mediation of pigment and water.