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Watercolor Notes June 18, 2026 In this issue Reader responses to last week’s newsletter My crazy day What’s available Question of the week Looking Back Hi Reader,In my last newsletter, I wrote about creative resistance, the invisible force field that shows up right when you’re supposed to be painting. I used the analogy of magnets that I played with as a kid. No matter how hard you push the opposing poles together, they won’t go. That’s what resistance feels like, not laziness, just a force…

Watercolor Notes:Resistance with a capital R A recent plein air painting Hi Reader, Here’s a very random analogy for you, so stick with me…growing up on a ranch, there were always a couple of cow magnets in my dad’s animal-medical kit. I played with them as a kid and no matter how you tried to push the opposing sides together, they just wouldn’t go. There was this invisible force field of resistance between them, and I could feel the push against my hands. (In case you’re wondering, cow…

Watercolor Notes Hi Reader, I hope your May has been a creative one so far. I took Ellie to the beach yesterday and she dug a big hole. What she really loves is rescuing a small stick from the depths of the sand. If I find a stick and push it down into the hole she’s already dug, the game really begins. It’s serious work and play at the same time. She has to problem-solve and that’s what she loves most. This is similar to the reason why I enjoy watercolor painting so much. Painting is one…

Hi Reader, I hope you’re enjoying some signs of spring! This month, inside Watercolor In Flow, I posted a new video on painting water, and the ocean waves demo might be my favorite thing I’ve taught so far. When you live on the Oregon coast, discovering a way to paint waves is key. Here are a few still shots from the video. Phase 1: This is the moment that trips most people up: the rocks are painted, you’re painting the sky, and all that white paper is just… sitting there. Intimidating,…

Hi Reader, It’s a rainy Sunday on the Oregon Coast, which feels like the right kind of day to bring home a (new-to-me) vintage dresser and reorganize the studio. This is the only nice corner of my studio right now. The rest looks like chaos. William Morris said, “Have nothing in your home that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.” I think that’s a good rule for studios, too. I’m working on it! And speaking of working on things, I wanted to let you know about a workshop…

Hi Reader,Today I have a quote to share from artist David Curtis. “The idea that watercolor is a pleasant little pastime; that logic defies me, I’m afraid. It’s a tough old sport. I think it’s that the highs are incredibly high and the lows can be very disheartening, especially when you get a run of substandard work. You begin to wonder if whatever abilities you’ve got are on a knife-edge and that you’re beginning to lose them. You think ‘that’s just me’, but then you talk to your peers, and…