What do watercolor and jazz have in common?
Both are improvisational and neither respond well to micro-management.

I’ve always been a big fan of Norman Rockwell’s work and saw an exhibit of his paintings at the High Museum a few years back. A current exhibit of Norman Rockwell works are at the LaGrange Art Museum, now through August 22.

Also, I’ve learned of a reception and showing of Winston Churchill’s paintings on August 5 at Hills & Dales in LaGrange, at 6:30 pm. His grandson will give a lecture and there will be six of Churchill’s paintings to see. Cost for the reception, exhibition and lecture is $10. per person. Reservations required, call 706-882-3242.

Students at Sunnyside Community Club are going into their fourth week of watercolor and drawing instruction. The first three weeks have been spent learning how to make and use a color wheel, practicing a few painting techniques, and developing drawing skills. This Wednesday we will begin “observation” training. (A contour drawing of the subject can provide the perfect path to access one’s natural ability to process visual information. Understanding color; how to analyze the color in a subject and how to select and mix primaries to duplicate that color. This is the key to harmonious color schemes, creating complex color rather than flat out of a tube, and making clear, glowing color instead of muddy mixes. 

Nine students are taking my Drawing Fundamentals class at the Turner Center. Tuesday  night we talked brain science; how the brain’s right hemisphere possesses a superior ability to process visual information, while the left hemisphere relies on memory and a symbol system developed in childhood. The class did contour drawings and upside down drawings to engage the right hemisphere. The usually dominate left hemisphere was unable to do these exercises and had to step aside. It is fascinating, that we can learn to use each hemisphere to its best advantage. The left hemisphere houses language, mathematical skills and logic. The right is all about intuition, mindfulness, leaps of faith and solving visual puzzles.

Clint Eastwood said of his one-take directing style, ” You can kill it with improvements”. This is definitely true of watercolor. Learn to appreciate unpredictable outcomes, exciting developments and happy accidents.Relinquish your goal of absolute control and you will be rewarded with more success.