Every new year brings a bevy of intentions to the table. My birthday is New Year’s day so I’ve always associated my birthday with a time of renewal and reflection. I consider Old Lang Syne to be my birthday song. This year I want to spend more time in my studio, painting, drawing, writing, all the things that fill me up with hope and contentment and help me bring my best self to every situation.
My husband, Kenny Gray, shot this video with his iPhone and edited it in Photoshop. I wrote my dialog and voice over. We love collaborating and think you will enjoy watching this video about my watercolor and drawing classes at Columbus State University.
Cat Brier in Hadden Woods When I paint a leaf I notice every vein, every worm hole, every soft color. I would not notice these details in a glance. Observation is a meditative practice, a skill that can be learned. Enhance your life by changing the way you see the world around you. This is a photograph of Spider Lilies on Flat Shoals Creek. I’m inspired by their story, a story of the interdependent web of all existence. Their survival depends on rushing water. They die in still water. When the dams at Columbus were torn out and the water began rushing over the rocks again, they came back.
I’m very happy to report Drawing Crash Course! at Auburn on Saturday is over-full. 
Auburn will offer my Watercolor Crash Course! on June 25th. The subject that day is the Plumleaf Azalea, Callaway Gardens’ signature flower. 
Not every student desires to become an artist, but they all seek a connection to their environment, and perhaps to themselves. Come to the Drawing Crash Course! Saturday May 07, at Auburn,University and learn how to see. 
The Longleaf Forest was inspired by the forest on my father’s land where I loved to roam when I was a girl. I’ve recently learned about the great Longleaf forests that once covered the southeastern United States and the fascinating story of the Longleaf Ecosystem. I thought my ancestors were pyromaniacs, but it turns out they knew what they were doing when they “burned”.
Azalea Trail at the Overlook
It was unlike other mediums I had tried; pencil, charcoal, oil, acrylic…put them down and they stay put. Not so with watercolor which continues to move long after you’ve walked away, as if it had a mind of its own. Now, I find that characteristic the one I’ve come to love the most. I’m endlessly fascinated by watercolor. My advice to newbies….relax, don’t be too bossy with watercolor, it doesn’t respond well to micro-management.
brendaswatercolors.com 