What Emotional Connections Inform Your Art?

Are you aware of the emotional connection you have to your work when you set out to paint?

When I choose a subject I look for those I have a feeling for, where a sense of relationship already exists. Fulfilling creative expression stems from caring deeply about a theme, an object, a person, a place.

Sometimes it’s hard to express those emotions with words and images. But I let my intuition guide me and make an effort to identify the feeling I have for each of my chosen subjects.

My emotional connection for this painting is a childhood memory

After an afternoon downpour the puddles on the street reflect the sunshine breaking through the clouds. It’s cool in Bogotá. The streets are deserted. I am home with my brothers and sister, warm and sheltered, sipping hot chocolate and nibbling on a piece of freshly baked bread with cheese.

Here I share the step-by-step process of painting this watercolor

This painting is based on a photo I took in Bogotá last year when I was visiting my parents. I wandered through the streets after a rain, looking for that feeling of freshness and calm to take reference photos for my paintings.

I wasn’t satisfied with the photographs, but they do remind me of feelings evoked by the light and the quiet that come just after rainfall. Then I set out to interpret that feeling in watercolor.

Here are the original photo reference and a study I made to work out values and how the shapes would be simplified.

Now its time to move on to my next feeling and my next painting.

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Paint with me! Click here and check out my online watercolor classes.

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