An Unusual Path to Watercolor

Sometime around February or March of 2021, I was panicking about having enough money to not only leave Japan, but to survive and feed myself after returning. At that point, I did not know where I would land- Austria was initially part of the plan, so, scrambling, bought a pack of watercolors, telling myself they’d be to create supplementary income, taking up significantly less space than bulky canvas.

Did I mention I didn’t know how to use watercolors? Never took a class, didn’t really know where to begin. Had blobbed some colors around, but never really finished a piece.

Why on earth did I think this was a thing that could happen? Lemme tell you something- survival is one helluva motivator.

As luck may have it- the watercolor plan never had to come to fruition. My Austria stay fell through as Covid suddenly lifted its middle finger at my plans, and landing softly back in the comfy cradle of Tallahassee, Florida opened up as my best option. I was fortunate enough to sell a few canvas portraits after returning to help pay for food.

As luck also had it, my quarantine time had me isolated in the incredibly talented Yoshiko Murdick’s studio (Yoshiko's Art House), nestled amongst a prolific range of her watercolor paintings- portraits, still lives, abstracts and the most beautiful North Florida landscapes you could be blessed to rest your peepers upon were tiled towards the ceiling. My mind and eyes ate up the imagery almost as if I was being gifted a continued education purely by proximity.

Motivated by the beauty, I’ve continued my watercolor bumbling, scribbling out illustrations, lettering and cartoons (basically playing around to see how the brushes and paint works), and FINALLY recently began feeling confident enough to start promoting the portraits.

As wacky as the execution was, I am SO grateful that my impulsivity to create overrode my nervousness about a new medium.

Now- I wouldn’t call that confidence. I wouldn’t call it talent, either. I’d call it laser focus and some serious hard-headedness! 🤣