My 10 years with Watercolors

How it all started...

Watercolor painting has always been a great mystery to me. I observed watercolorists, their works, and how magical the results were, but when I tried it for the first time, I hated the technique. It was hate at first brushstroke! Because I was so used to having control over everything using colored pencils, I had a hard time understanding the freedom of watercolor.

I hesitated for many years. Until I wrote a children's book. Everything was going perfectly well. I had the story, the characters, the color palette. But there was one tiny problem... I imagined all the illustrations in watercolor. Don't ask me how that happened. I don't know either. I just know that with colored pencils I couldn't achieve the effects I had in mind...

Primeira versão do meu livro "Eu Sou Especial?"

First, I tried with dry pastels. I made the entire book, assembled the pages, edited it, printed it, and bound it. It was a complete failure. I showed it to family and friends, and everyone loved it. It was awful, and I knew it. It wasn't what I wanted. "Well," I thought, "I think it's time to 'get a grip' and learn to paint with watercolors, otherwise you'll never be satisfied." And that's what I did. It was September 2015. I packed up my brand-new, expensive colored pencil case I'd just bought (artists have these things: when they decide they want to learn a new technique, nothing can change their mind), went to the stationery store, and bought the simplest and cheapest Pentel watercolor set, a pad of watercolor paper from an unknown, inexpensive brand, and some brushes.

With each brushstroke, I hated the technique more. I couldn't control the water. I couldn't control the colors, I couldn't control my life. "I couldn't control my life." What do you mean? Where did that thought come from? I stopped to reflect on my life as I tried to learn that damned technique that was ruining my self-confidence. Why couldn't I learn that technique? Why did I want to control everything?

“My life is like this water spread across the paper, I can't control it, I can only guide it along the path I've traced and place the colors I've planned. But I can't control how the color will behave when it mixes with the other one that was already there. They will meet and I can only take advantage of that moment to create a new part of the painting.”

From the moment I began to understand the psychological concepts of watercolor, I began to open up more and relax more with water. I began to see the beauty in a simple smudge and appreciate mistakes. To err is human. And sometimes, from mistakes are created the most beautiful moments. I can say that watercolor taught me to live more freely.

FREEDOM.

This is the main concept of this technique. This is how it works. This is how it frees you. I started by challenging myself to paint all the Disney Princesses. It was simple and silly. But I needed to hold myself to something. And each result was unique. I started with Aurora and painted one by one. When the animated film Moana came out in January 2016, I had already painted all the other princesses, so I concluded the challenge by painting Moana herself.

The progress was incredible! In five months, I had evolved in ways I couldn't even fathom! It was magical. Of course, I didn't become a super painter, but I had evolved, and that was enough to boost my self-esteem and give me hope in this new technique.

I painted, painted, and painted. I failed many, many times. I tried again. And again. And again. This month marks 10 years of dedicating myself entirely to watercolor. And today I can say that I have no desire whatsoever to return to my previous techniques. Perhaps to satisfy my

longing, to continue practicing. I still have a lot to learn. But I can say that my greatest desire is to be a great watercolorist. This year I published the book that sparked this whole process. And others, which are only in my sketchbook, will be published soon. I feel confident enough to continue and evolve. With love, Robbie