A new medium

Acrylics are not a very portable medium, especially fluid acrylics. They take a lot of room and they dry very quickly – which is an advantage in the studio but a disadvantage in the field. I needed a different plan for plein air and travel. So I picked up some watercolors and began experimenting.

Watercolors are basically the opposite technique from acrylics. I leave the white of the paper instead of adding white at the end. You can glaze in watercolor but there’s a limited amount of it possible. And the vivid colors I use in my acrylics are very difficult to achieve in watercolor. Oddly, this didn’t bother me and I quickly developed a style and color palette that differed drastically from my acrylics. Even more odd, I love this new medium. It seems to supplement my creative needs. And the best part? Everything fits neatly in a small pouch, the size some women use for their makeup. I can’t wait to get out in the wilderness this summer.