Watercolor Journaling – how words can enrich your work

What does journaling have to do with developing yourself as an artist? I remember the first time I was asked to write my ‘artist statement’. It turned out to be a soul searching experience for me. Why do I paint? What is it about painting that is a necessary part of my life? I figured out it’s the way I see the world and how I fit-in. It’s my philosophy of life. Ah-ha! This is why I paint! The words helped me navigate and define what it was that I had to get into my work, the content in my paintings. For me it was all about the rhythms and the interconnections seen in nature.

So now, as I paint, I’m finding that painting stimulates the words to flow, the ideas, which, in turn, further expand my work. What is it that I’m trying to SAY in my work? What am I thinking? Who am I? I want this authentic and honest quality to enter my work. I want my work to have meaning, in fact, layers and layers of meaning. Meaning, the significance or implication behind the paint, can be brought forth through feelings, memories, past occurrences. Writing down these emotions can help bring forth images and techniques for future paintings. The best words are the ones that react and reflect or the verbs and adverbs.