Fun, Relaxing, and Stress Melting Abstract Watercolor Painting

Did you know that there was a time when I was completely against abstract art? In my younger days, I wouldn’t even go to an abstract art exhibit. As I mentioned in Lesson 8, at the time I was drawing and painting in a more realistic style, and I thought that abstract art was just lazy, wonky, and I didn’t get it at all. 

Until one day when I went to a mid century modern art exhibit.  It featured lots of different artists from that era, but I didn’t realize that there were going to be a few abstract paintings included. It was like life or fate, laughing at me, because when I stepped in front of a certain piece, something just shifted in me.

You never really know what’s going to move you and inspire you to action next.

It was a gigantic canvas by Mark Rothko, full of soft, horizontal lines fading in recurring colors throughout, the ones I remember the most being peach, soft gray, and creamy yellows. It was approximately the size of a large wall, and as I stood in front of it, my eye traveled from one part of it to another to another and back again. I just couldn’t take my eyes off of these soft strokes and soothing colors. Looked at it from close-up, then I looked at it from far away, and noticed how it changed the look, and how I felt about it. And after about 10 or 15 minutes, I realized this painting made me feel something deep that I couldn’t even describe. I remember feeling peaceful, thoughtful, hopeful, joyous, and understood. 

I was, and am not into this painter at all, so it really took me by surprise. I didn’t even like most of the pieces in the collection, but I really enjoyed the exhibit, because it transformed me. This is what art is supposed to do for us; improve our our life, and inspire us to be better humans. This one painting had changed my entire perspective on abstract art, and I never forgot it for the rest of my life. This experience really taught me some things, like not to be so set in stone with my beliefs, for one.

Being open minded has made my life better in many ways and I thank this painting for that shift.

Many years later, at the beginning of 2020, my day job sent me home the day we closed for the pandemic. As I drove home in the middle of the day, it was so surreal, but the reality didn’t hit me until I got home, put all my things down, and realized I had no idea what to do with myself.

The overwhelming magnitude of what was going on in the world, and why I was unexpectedly home for day, suddenly hit me like a ton of bricks, along with the realization that I had no idea whether any of us would even live through it or not.

In that moment, I began having a severe panic attack. This is not a common thing for me, so I was pretty out of my depth. It wasn’t until it was all over that I realized I had walked over to my art table, which I always kept ready for painting, grabbed a blank piece of watercolor paper, and started putting water on it.

In that moment when I lost myself, watercolor painting is what pulled me through.

I dabbed my brush in various colors and dipped them in the water and watched the paint pool. It was so beautiful and mesmerizing to watch and such a simple and soothing process. I’m really not sure how much time has passed but afterwards I was breathing normally again and starting to think happier thoughts. 

I think we can all remember where we were at that time, and what was going on around us. It’s going to be a memory we’ll have for the rest of our lives. But along with that moment for me, will forever live that visceral connection with the healing power of art, and watercolor painting specifically.

I’m a multi passionate artist with different interests, so I could’ve grabbed acrylic or gouache paints, or some sculpting material, or fabric to start sewing, but I didn’t. I chose my watercolor paints. It had recently become my favorite art medium of all but after that experience, it also became a grounding place for me to go to combat stress and tension. 

Watercolor painting became a safe and welcome place to go when I needed to escape real life for just a little while.

After I stepped away from my art table, I went about my business, got something to eat, etc. When I came back to my studio area several hours later, I was surprised to find what I had painted. It was the most beautiful abstract watercolors that I had never created before. I was so shocked and so delighted to see such a beauty come out of such pure fear and concern. There must have been some hope in there somewhere too, because that painting uplifted me and made me feel joy. I had poured everything out onto that paper, and it had really helped me through something unfamiliar and terrifying. 

After that, I began to experiment with other abstract compositions, and I used it as a tool to deal with what was going on in the world at that time. I shared about it in a blog post, and I got some really good response, and it dawned on me that others needed a way to deal with their deep and unfamiliar feelings during that time too. 

I realized that many others needed what abstract watercolor painting could do for them.

That’s when my abstract painting series on Skillshare was born. I shared free links to that first class, Abstract Watercolor Painting: Backgrounds, which I designed to be an approachable entry point for anyone, even someone who had never painted with watercolors before. I wanted to make it accessible to anyone and everyone needing a quick escape from what was going on in the world. I created four other abstract classes afterwards, and shared it for those who needed to continue to work through their feelings in a relaxed, non-judgemental class environment. 

Years later I see now, that this was always needed, because stress is never going away. So I’m glad that it’s out there for anyone on Skillshare to watch. As I’m creating this video, I’m considering adding these classes to my own teaching site, so non Skillshare members can access these lessons and put them to work in their own lives. I’d love to hear from you in the comments below if this is something you’d be interested in!

In summary, you can see what a journey abstract art has been for me throughout my adult life, and a huge asset watercolor painting has been for me in general. I can’t tell you what a privilege it is to be sharing my evolution, and my watercolor story with you. I can’t promise you that you’ll have the same results I did, or that abstract painting will help you with your stress, but it has for lots of my students, and I truly hope you find solace in it too!

Want to experience the Abstract Watercolor Painting series on Skillshare? Click the button below to see my Skillshare page and scroll down to Abstract Painting Series.