Wind of Memories: Capturing a Chilly Summer Day in Watercolor
Sometimes I return to my older paintings that, for some reason, rub me the wrong way. It’s either because they aren't technically perfect or they just fail to convey the exact emotion I wanted. As we know, watercolor has a mind of its own — sometimes you manage to tame it, and sometimes you just don’t 😅
This often happens with deeply personal subjects. For instance, this particular piece is based on a snapshot of my son flying a kite in San Ramon Central Park on a chilly summer day last year. My original painting just wasn't clicking with me. I tried to correct it a couple of times, but honestly, I only made it worse, haha.
So, almost a year later, I decided to get back to this story and re-do it entirely from scratch. This time, I chose a larger sheet so that the boy and his colorful kite could truly stand out. I used 13 × 9 inches 100% cold press cotton watercolor paper and my favorite, quite comprehensive, set of Rosa Gallery watercolors.
I also recorded the entire process using my new desk ring lamp. This is my very first attempt at making an extended recording of my work, and I did my best editing the video and adding the text annotations 😅
Personally, I love watching watercolor process videos and tutorials. Isn’t it the ultimate form of art-procrastination? You get to watch someone paint without actually facing the struggles yourself — skipping the fear, imposter syndrome, desperation, and rage that usually come with it 🤣
But back to the painting! I’m incredibly happy with the results this time. I love how vibrant the boy’s jacket and the kite turned out, and my soft fan brush did a great job rendering the grassy field. Most importantly, I’m grateful I was able to capture this precious moment of my son’s childhood.
You can watch the full, step-by-step process in the video below. I hope you enjoy it!
