I just got these babies yesterday. Opening the boxes and removing the plastic wrapping around each tiny pot of paint today was quasi-ceremonial. This is a creative commitment. I celebrate that but it’s a little scary too. I haven’t painted anything for a long, long time.

My mentor in California (Norma Flynn) was a painter and taught me all I know about the medium. She always stressed the importance of excellent paints and brushes, even for the beginner. Buying quality tools is a little counter-intuitive, like golf. The pros demand the best but it’s the amateur that benefits the most from refined technologies. They give us the best advantages in the absence of the most honed skills.

The watercolors are made by Windsor & Newton and come in a handy travel tin, which doubles as a washable pallet for mixing. I love the practicality. This also inspires me to think of working outdoors or going on a trip somewhere. Maybe my dreams will supply the subject.

The Escoda sable brushes are works of art in themselves. They are perfectly balanced, six-inch long hand-carved artist tools from Spain. I feel like an artist just holding them. I must honor them with my best efforts. After all, it was an artisan who crafted each one.

Of course, before dipping brushes into paint there is the sketch. I liken this stage to conceiving of a premise and conjuring up an outline before beginning a script. The more you do it, the quicker and more efficient the sketch. And so, like writing for film and television, the process begins with an idea, a vision for its execution and pencil and paper.

Everything starts from a dot.”

Wassily Kandinsky https://www.wassilykandinsky.net/quotes.php

Stay tuned!