Janet Catmull
My blogs
| Gender | Female |
|---|---|
| Industry | Arts |
| Occupation | Artist |
| Location | Valencia, CA, United States |
| Introduction | Painting goes back to prehistoric times, but today's materials are not much more sophisticated than they were back then. Watercolor paper is made from cotton, and pigment from minerals, rocks, or clay; water, and a binder. Watercolorists usually say they paint "the light" (including the shadows). The light determines what colors you see, and tells the viewer how to see the painting in 3D. So basically we use cotton, minerals, clay, water, and light. All natural ingredients. Still, watercolor painting is not a simple, straightforward task. Teachers encourage their students to "let it do its own thing," for good reason: after you lay down a brushstroke, the pigment and water will continue to move and change. That's how you get the beautiful mixtures of colors and textures. After it's dry, it will look different -- quite a bit lighter -- and you have to plan ahead for this. It's not an easy medium, but the payoff is nothing you can create through sheer effort any other way. It's just beautiful. I've been painting and drawing for over twenty years, and the last decade I've focused on learning and using watercolor. I think I'll be learning it the rest of my life. |
| Interests | Art, art history, travel, English and Scottish history, geology (rocks, minerals, formations), microscopy, astronomy, music, games, amateur physics. Learning new things! |
| Favorite Music | I came of age listening to music from 1965-1975, from the Beatles to the Moody Blues and I adore music from that era and genre. But I also listen to current rock and pop, and light classical. |
| Favorite Books | David Baldacci, James Patterson, Tana French, Clive Cussler, Michael Connolly, Stephen King. I used to read daily but painting has taken over! |