Watercolor

Click on images for a magnified view

   

Yupo paper is like plastic, the paint puddles, runs and moves across the surface easily. They are only 5" x 6" each so I did them in class, while teaching. They are quick and spontaneous self portraits of me as a child.  The same portrait image - again and again.  There is something about the constrains of having to work fast - under pressure and in-between students questions that I thrive on.  It requires me to let go. The paint, the Yupo paper and the situation for the day dictates the color choice and the movement of the paint. Part of me was screaming inside when I did them. For some - I was holding my breath.

 

Sometimes I would paint them...and later be haunted by the emotions that were expressed. There was something  about the way the paint moved...after I walked away. I had control of the composition and the colors, but the paint would dry differently than I had intended.   The puddles remind me of tears, layers of emotion and a different way to cry.

  

Don't ask - why the monkey.  He just is.