Unlike the detailed plan I’d had when it came to learning medicine, learning to paint with watercolors was a brand new challenge. I had no idea where to start, what exactly I really needed to learn or from whom I might learn.

From online classes and from books, I sought anything I could get, and I was lucky to find some inspiring teachers. Being home with small kids in a small village meant I couldn’t easily enroll in an in-person art school. I had very little time to learn, and it had to be on my schedule.Instructional books and online learning became great resources for me, but I became a little too focused on the details. I shopped for exactly the same supplies my teachers used, assembled color palettes that included “must have” colors, only transparent colors, only single pigment colors . . . . So many rules.So many warnings about losing the light or making a flat painting. Only use watercolors. Always sketch. Don’t sketch. Never use white, never use black, only use primary colors, on and on.

It took me a long time to find focus and trust myself. I came to realize it is not just about techniques; it is about a state of mind. I learned flexibility and finding my own way. Technique was and is important, no doubt. But for every rule in art, there are artists that break them and still make beautiful artwork. I began rejecting teachers that only saw one way to do things, and I embraced instructors who encouraged me to go my own way and experiment.

I found myself mostly drawn to painting flowers, but also experimented with landscapes and portraits. I became somewhat satisfied with my progress. I enjoyed myself and found watercolor enchanting.

And . . . many days I felt frustrated. I had images in my head that I couldn’t translate to finished paintings. I kept on searching, hoping maybe the perfect course or technique was all that was missing. (This sort of frustration is probably the stage when many people abandon learning a new skill.) I kept wondering, when will I find my style, when will things get really good?

The reality is that getting to a point where I recognized I’d developed my own unique voice and style was a process, and I cannot fully explain it. The more I painted and the more I experimented, the more focused I became on truly enjoying what I was painting and I saw it reflected in my work.It seems as if it took a long time. I kept working in ways I saw other artists work, because they created beautiful art, and I trusted them to show me the way. The best teachers I had did help pave the way. However, as it turns out, my way is not always their way, and that is okay.​I’m not saying I invented the wheel, but the hardest part about finding this place was throughout all of my seeking, I didn’t know anyone who was already here. I found happiness using certain colors or combinations that can defy traditional rules. I found joy in curating color stories and palettes; in sketchy lines and expressive brush strokes; in incorporating mixed-media supplies, such as pencils and pastels.

It’s now my intention to provide a place for artists of all levels searching for something in the watercolor world they feel they haven’t found yet. It may very well be similar to my own situation in that it doesn’t yet exist. Though watercolor is classic and has been around for centuries, I feel it is only in the last two decades that artists are starting to unlock so many new possibilities.

Look beyond florals, landscapes, still life and portraits. Imagine exciting new directions for intuitively painting abstract art in watercolor and other mediums.

Watercolor can be controlled, but to me, it is most beautiful when left to do its own thing.

I left the art world when I was eighteen, and found my way back in my thirties.​Prior to this return, my world was a conservative environment. My school had uniforms; the army and med school came with their own conservative dress code; my hospital work required a white coat or scrubs.

The colorful and free-spirited bohemian world I longed to be a part of was not something I ever belonged to.

Painting brought me the freedom to be immersed in color.

I hope you will also find watercolor freedom and whatever medium you choose to explore, I hope it will bring you joy and enriches your world, inside and out.