What Inspired Me to Paint the Big Blue Painting?

Trying to figure out what to paint next is always a conundrum for me. In that moment after I’ve spread out a huge, intimidating blank piece of paper or canvas in front of me, it seems like I’m facing a vast white wilderness.  

My mom had sent me a collection of beautiful new powder watercolors, and I thought I would experiment with how they work on some 18” x 24” watercolor paper.

My favorite color palette of all time is teal blue with a rusty orange or deep red. That pallet just speaks to my soul. It usually doesn’t matter what the subject matter is; if I’m using those colors, or if YOU’RE using those colors, I will love the artwork!

I set out to experiment with my favorite color palette and my new watercolors, and I just went for it. I got the entire page wet with water and started putting some teal blue on the background, and then I sprinkled on some other shades of blue until I had the page full of color. Then I went for a dash of orange in the middle of the painting to make it pop.

When watercolors are wet (below), they always appear a bit richer and deeper in color than when they are completely dry.

But when this painting dried, I was shocked at how much vibrancy it retained and how engaging the composition was. It reminded me of an inferno with a lot of intense movement.

Is it the bottom of the ocean?

Is it some sort of turmoil at sea?

Is everything ablaze and up in smoke?

Is it a crazy, colorful campfire?

What do you see? Do you like it?

I submitted this one to a “Women in Watercolor” competition and was a finalist. I need to find some other competitions to submit it to because I think it’s an amazing piece!