February 4, 2020

The usefulness of constraints

It’s easy to put limits on ourselves. To see these things as barriers that prevent us from doing what we want to do. My desk is too small. I don’t have enough time. I don’t have a ‘space’. I can’t afford to do art. I can’t draw. But barriers are only barriers if you see them that way.

Of all the mediums, why did I start with watercolour? (Apparently, the most difficult, according to oil painters).

Well, because my desk is too small (for acrylics). I don’t have the luxury of time (that oils demand). I don’t have the ‘space’ (to store artwork that takes too long to dry). I didn’t have a lot of money (to afford canvases, brushes, mediums, etc.).

Watercolour, for me, is the ultimate medium. It dries fast. It doesn’t stain my furniture (much). It only needs a piece of paper, which is lightweight and can be as big or small as your circumstances require. It’s cheap to get started. It’s portable, too.

Barriers are only barriers because we imagine them to be. If we try to use our constraints and see them as shaping us, rather than limiting us, maybe we’ll discover something that fits in with life, but still feeds our soul.

Other observations
May 6, 2025

Like a machine

Should artists aspire for robotic-like accurate and consistency like those who are the best in their sport?

April 22, 2025

The craft of digital drawing

The problem with digital art is that there’s always a piece of software between me and the work, but maybe that’s what makes it a craft?

April 15, 2025

Extending the antenna

Where do ideas come from? How does one make something from nothing? Perhaps it’s about recognising the importance of a state of receptivity?

April 8, 2025

Old cheese

Just because something takes a long time, doesn’t mean it’s old, slow or worse. In fact, in the case of cheese, it may be better.

View all