I chose to paint a butterfly. It's hardly perfect as the colors are not perfect, the technique isn't flawless, and the edges are rough. But I think that this butterfly represents me as a person. My imperfections are what make me who I am and add to my overall beauty. This butterfly is vibrant and intriguing. I can imagine it flitting about in a meadow of flowers. All the other butterflies surrounding it in their own colors, patterns, and sizes. Specifically this butterfly is special because it isn't perfectly symmetrical or amazingly designed but it has a lot of effort and love. The butterfly is full of life and meaning as I see myself in it.
I really connected with these articles as I am an analog painter and now a beginner digital painter. The article in which artists explain why they use watercolor, I especially like how almost everyone describes the medium as wonderful and different yet difficult. For example, Rusty Walker said, “There is a magical quality in the reflection of transparent watercolor against the white of the paper that is uniquely brilliant and alluring.”. This is relevant to me as I stare at a blank artboard in Photoshop and begin to wash the colors layer by layer. Something that stood out to me in the website where the artist gives their advice is when it said to not expect instant success. This was hard for me in the beginning because I wanted to instantly be good at online watercolor and understand how to do it but it takes time. I need to practice and not give up. I feel like this assignment was an assuring painting for me just like how she says in the third article. I was unsure of my abilities as an artist or student so being able to paint and complete this assignment has built my confidence and got me started.
I think that this project was more difficult for me. I really liked the forgiveness that the paint had while working with pastels but with watercolor there is less room for error and it takes even more practice. Painting is very interesting to me and a big part of my life so something I had to overcome was expecting myself to be good at it right from the start. I thought that because I've grown up doing analog painting it would translate over but it did not. I had a hard time figuring out the strategy for this project. Working the brushes correctly took me a long time as well. This project was a very good opportunity to push myself out of my comfort zone and try new things. I will still need a lot more practice if I ever want to become very successful at this but it's a good start.
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