Buddhist Mother by Annie Flavin

Watercolors + computer generated words

My love of watercolor is evolving and growing.  Lately, I'm paying closer attention to the color spectrum of the natural world around me.  The blooming fennel on the roadside is the most brilliant shade of yellow.  A walk on the beach can provide inspiration with all of the blue color variations from the sky to the bay to the ocean.  Children suited up in bathing suits, plastic sand toys & umbrellas dot the beige sandy coastline with pops of primary colors.  All of this color is seeping into my bones and I notice I'm dressing with more pattern and intentional hues.  Shoes, purses and jewelry echo my recent love affair with hot pink and geometric shapes.  I'm thoroughly enjoying this new perspective of what's always been around me.  I'm paying attention.

I just signed up to take a six-week workshop with the oh-so talented watercolorist, Jean Warren, at the Sebastopol Center for the Arts.  I met Jean when I owned the wine bar and my husband helped the Warrens find their dream home overlooking the Pacific Ocean in Bodega Bay.

Grady was lucky enough to study with her off and on over the past few years.  Jean helped guide him with the paintings he did for his last art show with Scott Vancleemput last year called Bananas! and she encouraged him to submit some of his earlier works to the West Marin Review.  One of his watercolor paintings was accepted and I wrote about it here.

Jean is a generous artist, as well as a soft-spoken and kind soul.  I'm looking forward to being her student and learning technique from such an accomplished painter.

Scans of my work just can't show you the color variations and textures like seeing and holding the real thing.  I love the rich, thick feel of watercolor paper.  I have a go-to palette of colors that I know work well together and I'm using neon pink in almost everything I'm painting right now.

This poem is one of Annie's most recent.  Check out her website for more of her wise words and her fresh, smart perspective on life, love and parenting.

I'm collaborating with Annie on a new project that will be revealed in the coming months and I'm working hard this month to create a series of illustrations to accompany her poetry.

Stay tuned.