I remember the first time I discovered watercolours. I was in middle school, and one of my classmates got a tin set of camel watercolours. I remember being fascinated with how the paints got activated the moment the water from the brush touched the watercolour cakes, and how the paint swirled on paper, in water. It was like magic!

Origin Story of Choosing Watercolours

I lost touch with my creative expressive side post-school. Whenever I did make art post-school, I would go straight to my tin set of camel watercolour cakes. I would create galaxies on paper, transporting me to a different time and space.

I vividly remember the excitement of working with a medium which has a mind of its own, the feelings evoked by putting water on paper, adding different shades of blues and greens and purples which danced on paper.

So it wasn’t a surprise that when I got back to art during the pandemic, it was with deep diving into the world of watercolours.

The Magic of Watercolours

The materials I like to work with are essentially two primary elements of nature- water (watercolours) and earth (clay). I have talked about the magic of working with clay and the wisdom this medium holds within itself in this blog post. After all, it is nothing but a fragment of the magnificence that is Earth.

The reason I love working with watercolours is because it is like a sigh of satisfaction. When I am working with watercolours I can let go of my perfectionism and surrender to the magnificence of the goliath that the element of water is.

My materials move me closer toward the lifestyle I want to embody, that of sustainability and slow living. Working with the elements of nature helps me slow down, get present and ground myself.

And I hope those feelings translate into my work and provide a sense of grounding to those consuming my art. To be able to create and hold that space for myself and my audience fills my heart with joy & fulfilment.