Lilly

Relax, it's only watercolor

I painted this in 2024 and realized I hadn’t shared it with my Substack subscribers and followers. For many, watercolor is difficult. I know because, at times, it is for me. When I am not relaxed, I try to make everything perfect. That is what happened on this day, just before painting Lilly. That day, my sketches were odd, the colors were off, and the basket beneath my desk received all my work. But then I realized the problem - I considered it work. It’s not supposed to be work. It’s play. Then I remembered something I hadn’t said in a while - Perfect is the enemy of good.

I took my advice, grabbed a new sheet of paper, and played. I used whatever was on my tray and painted fast without a care—the result: Lilly. It now looks down at me from the wall. Now and then, it speaks to me when I stress out about a painting. It shouts, “Hey Picasso, lighten up. It’s all going to be okay.”