The paintings are so much more beautiful in my mind...

If only what I paint in my mind could instantly appear on my watercolor paper! When I wake up in the morning before getting up to go to work, I plan my next painting...or my next 10 painting:-). The colors are vivid, the brush strokes are perfect, the light and shadows offer the perfect contrast and some small detail becomes fascinating.  Then the images fade but I keep a vague memory of this beauty for the rest of the day. For me, a big part of painting, of creative expression, probably lies in these inner visions that give me the nner peace and harmony that carry me through my other activities.

 Today is Saturday of a long weekend. If I can put on paper even 1% of what I imagined in those early dawn mornings this week, then, as an artist, I will be content. The brushstrokes won't be as masterful s they were in my imagination, the light and shadows will be elusive, the details may be too blurred. But, for me,  the journey is to be appreciated as much as the destination or the finished painting.

Below is an original watercolor painting that I saw in my mind many times before it appeared on the  paper.
It is from my “Memories of Venice” series and is the timeless scene that greeted me every morning from my hotel window during my trip to Venice last spring. Venetian sunshine on crumbling roof tiles…an attic door with cracks that let the pigeons in…I simply had to paint it as a reminder of the many different, but all beautiful,  faces of this wonderful city.

Original watercolor painting by Christiane Kingsley.
Arches paper 140 lb;
W&N watercolor paints.

Happy long weekend to all!
Christiane

Art cards and prints available on my Red Bubble