A Beginner's Journey into Watercolor Painting

When I was in school, the only class where I failed consistently was art. My teachers tried to help me, but the results were always the same: I could not even draw a stick figure. While they struggled to hide their disappointment, they knew that there was nothing they could really do.

For many years, I avoided games requiring drawing, because I knew that anyone playing with me would lose. Those who did not believe me always regretted forcing me to try. 😜

And yet, I secretly nurtured the dream of one day learning to watercolor paint.

My dream has finally come true!

In January this year, I came across video tutorials for complete beginners on YouTube. Everything looked very easy to paint. So, I thought: “You are a writer and photographer. You have created poetry forms. You have released 40+ books. You edit anthologies. You run several websites. You write and work in two languages. Screw your lack of self-confidence! You can do this!”

After several tries, I realized that I could actually paint something. And this is what I did.

Yes, there is a LOT of room for improvement. But for someone like me, who is badly coordinated and cannot follow lines, it’s an impressive feat.

After painting the piece, I made a mental list of my strengths and weaknesses as a creative, so as to build my self-confidence and have fun at the same time. It is the way I have always done things, after all.

My immediate conclusion was that I needed to start with simple subjects and scenes. A night sky with trees, for example.

It took me several tries, but I’m quite happy with the result!

Of course, I am aware that the trees look a little strange. But I warned you: I cannot even draw a stick figure. 😜

Now, here is another night sky. I made it on the same day as the first one. It only took me one attempt to nail it.

I love how simple and yet interesting this watercolor looks. The little imperfections work well. What do you think?

A few years ago, even a scene like this one would have been very difficult for me to draw. My hand is now more steady and I always look forward to seeing the result, even if it looks terrible.

I do not think I will ever be as good a painter as I am a photographer or writer, but this new challenge is helping my brain in areas where I used to struggle, including hand-eye coordination.

And now, an abstract painting! I wanted to make something completely different for a change.

The initial idea was to create another sky scene. Unfortunately, as usual, I made a few mistakes. So, I started painting over them to see what I could achieve. The drying process revealed different layers and shades that were not visible while working on the sheet. The whole thing ended up looking as if it were on fire.

I quite like the result. I also quite like what this experiment has taught me about painting. I used to look at the abstract genre with a sort of snobbish attitude. I grew up surrounded with books that extolled the virtues of classic styles over more contemporary and “free-flowing” creations. My favorite painting is Diego Velázquez’s Las Meninas.

As a result, I see abstract art with less of a critical lens. All I can say is that I have missed a lot of interesting works. Time to catch up! 😉

Here is another landscape painting.

I love the simplicity of this painting. It was fun to make.

And now, for a change, an abstract painting.

The inspiration behind the second piece is a photo of space that I saw on Twitter. Unfortunately, the OP decided to take it down, so I cannot show it to you.

I started trying to copy the photo, but my brain and hands decided to go another direction within a few seconds. Once again, I let the drying process do the talking and reveal different layers and shades, and then added a few more elements such as the galaxy-like patch in the top left corner.

To me, this painting leaves a lot to the imagination. When I look at it, I feel as though I were in another dimension. Maybe I will write a poem or flashku inspired by it. 😉

Last but not least, more landscapes!

I’m fascinated with the look of skies in watercolors. They are usually created with the wet-on-wet technique, a technique in which layers of wet paint are applied to a wet surface or onto pre-moistened paint. The results are always interesting, especially if you are not afraid of playing with your canvas.

That’s what I am trying to perfect for now.

As you can see, my struggle with trees continues — just like anything that requires knowledge of drawing. lol!

NB: All the piece in this story are about two months old. I have improved a little since then.

See you soon for more paintings from yours truly.

Contact me at [email protected] prior to using my work anywhere. Thank you!

That's it for today! Thank you for reading!

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Cendrine Marrouat is a writer, photographer, podcaster, blogger, anthology editor, and the co-founder of Auroras & Blossoms and A Warm Cup of Cozy. She has authored and co-authored more than 40 books, including The Train: A Short Story (2023), In Her Own Words: A Collection of Short Stories & Flashku (2022), After the Fires of Day: Haiku Inspired by Kahlil Gibran & Alphonse de Lamartine (2021), Rhythm Flourishing: A Collection of Kindku and Sixku (2020), Walks: A Collection of Haiku (2019-2020), and In the Silence of Words: A Three-Act Play (2018).

Cendrine's work has appeared in many publications. She is the creator of the Sixku, Flashku, Sepigram, and Reminigram; as well as the co-creator of the Kindku, Pareiku, Vardhaku, and Hemingku.