White paper can be intimidating if you’re a beginning watercolourist…
I found that making a mark, any mark, circumvented that agonizing moment when you’re staring at the paper and can’t decide what to paint…of course if you follow all the rules and keep a sketch book, you would have any number of ideas to turn into paintings…
But the problem for me was that I hate to sketch…. period…
..Lemon and Cherries-Watercolour
Sitting around with pencils and sketch pad was not for me…I wanted to paint…so I would do line drawings, basic outlines once only, and that was it…
I would dream up techniques and made a lot of notes…..I made notes of subjects to paint, on textures, mediums, and colours as well..sometimes I followed through with these ideas, some remained in my files for years before I looked at them again.. others are still there languishing, waiting to be turned into a painting…the point was that as soon as I wrote then down they went somewhere into the vault of my memory, and when I went to paint some combination of my ideas would appear on the paper as if by magic..
..Design…Oranges-Mixed Media
So what to paint? for me it was food first and foremost…then winter landscapes, abstracts and flowers last…as with my cooking, I like to do something different each time…needless to say gallerists did not like this at all….repeatedly I was told “you must have a body of recognizable work”…that to me meant doing the same thing over and over again… like eating “meat and two veg” every day of life…forget that… as I said before, I was not interested in selling anyway…
.. Pears-Mixed Media
So I decided to please myself and paint what I wanted, in the way that I wanted, and you can see the results on my RB pages…monoprint today, pastel tomorrow, inks the day after and mixed media the following day…the single element that tied them all together was colour….I love it…white on its own is an anathema to me…I am the opposite of a chromophobe…I have no fear when it comes to splashing or pouring colour on my paintings, and so had no fear of white paper.
If I did not have a subject in mind, I just started with the paint and let the colour tell me what to paint…monoprint was perfect for that…pour the paint on glass, turn the wet paper face down in it, then look at it…use the shapes that appear…if they don’t, I leave it for a day or two, and come back to it later on…
..Still Life Monoprint
I have been told over and over what a prolific a painter I am…I answer that it’s because I am painting in my head all the time….then when I get to the paper or canvas, it all comes pouring out, without my having to think to much about it…I paint quickly…I have to, as time for me is always of the essence, [I was, and still am raising a husband and a son]....when I am given a commission by a magazine, it is usually just before the shoot, so I’ve learned to work even faster…that does not mean that all the paintings are finished quickly…some like “The Potting Shed” took a very long time, but then I tend to work on several paintings at the same time… 
..The Potting Shed-Watercolour and Gouache
So what to paint….let the colour dictate sometimes…forget the sketch pad and pour on the paint…don’t plan…you’ll be surprised how effective it can be and you’ll never be intimidated by white paper again…
..Dinner Tonight-Pastel and Charcoal
Note: in the end I succumbed to pressure and in the winter of 2007 produced a body of work recognizable as mine [each one different, and yet the same]...it’s on my website, and is totally different from anything I show here…. I now have the best of both worlds…Janis
Tales from an Artist's Journal Part Six...What to Paint
Tales from an Artist’s Journal Part Six…What to Paint
Jim Phillips, 3 months ago
Well said Janis. The whole series is fantastic. If I was forced to pick my personal favorite it would be “Potting Shed.” A gorgeous display of light and shadow. Demonstrates true observation skills at their best.
Janis Zroback in reply to Jim Phillips’s comment, 3 months ago
Thank you Jim…I’m glad you Like “The Potting Shed..It’s one of my favourites as well…
Because RB is a site for selling inexpensive cards and prints, I tend to add paintings I feel that would find favour with such a wide variety of viewers as the WWW., and hold back those that are better suited to sell as originals, and would appeal to a smaller audience.. The Potting Shed would have been one of the latter, but I have decided to keep it for myself…
robyn nuttall, 3 months ago
Really interesting article Janis! I thoroughly agree about the “body of work” principle—someone obviously dreamed up that every piece in one exhibition had to look like every other piece in that exhibition and it has become gospel! I would have thought one of the great things about art is that you should be able to change your mind and try something different every time you feel like it. Maybe we should start a new Art Movement! I wonder what we could call it!
hilarydougill, 3 months ago
well done you, great lesson, beautiful paintings. hugs
Racheli, 3 months ago
Dear Janis, much appreciation, pure tuition.
Fantastic series.
coppertrees, 3 months ago
Wonderful as always Janis
Janis Zroback in reply to robyn nuttall’s comment, 3 months ago
Thank you Robyn….I think the people who thought it up were dealers, who sell the “red one” to their client, who may comeback for the “blue one” to match the sofa and so on…
I can understand it from a marketing point of view ….but for people like me who like to explore different styles and techniques, it’s not so great…
Yet if you look over my pages here, you can see that there’s a significant rhythm going on and that you can definitely recognize the connection between them that all my work has.
However that is not enough for art dealers…they want the style to shout the name of the artist across the room… the collectors want to be able to say I have a “so and so” in my living room, and proudly display it to guests…that’s the business side of art unfortunately…artists who want to make a living by their paintings have to find a way to be creative, and at the same time understand the commercial aspect of the business…
Janis Zroback in reply to hilarydougill’s comment, 3 months ago
Thank you Hilary…I’m glad you are enjoying these articles and the paintings I use to illustrate them..
Janis Zroback in reply to Racheli’s comment, 3 months ago
Thank you Rachel…I’m pleased that you are enjoying this series…I did not want it to be a how-to paint series per se, but in talking about what worked for me, I hoped it would encourage those just beginning to paint, to jump right in and not let fear hold them back.
Janis Zroback in reply to coppertrees’s comment, 3 months ago
Thank you Vickie…I’m glad you are enjoying this series…
Shree, 3 months ago
I will always respect you janis for all you lovely tips and artistic advise going on since last few months from your box of treasure….great learning in every article and am sure you have much more to share with all of us…keep them comming we do enjoy your efforts.
TomBaumker, 3 months ago
They are all nice but I like the potting shed very much, it looks like a old artist work from back in the early 1900`s hugs Tom
Janis Zroback in reply to Shree’s comment, 3 months ago
Thank you Shree…I’m so glad that you are enjoying my writing….I will keep them coming as long as there is enough interest….By your comments, I believe that there is enough to encourage me to continue….
Janis Zroback in reply to TomBaumker’s comment, 3 months ago
Thanks for commenting Tom…The potting Shed is one of my larger works…because it is my own collection I felt free to add it here…similar pieces are sold as originals only, so I don’t add them to RB….
blamo, 3 months ago
LEMON AND CHERRIES I like the starkness of the image makes the subject matter standout better
ORANGES/MAGIC I love the Abstract level in this it works for me on a different level as well as still life that’s why i have listed it with two titles
PEARS I like the depth and richness in this and very clever how you have used lot’s of orange and cerise but not overpowered it
STILL LIFE Excellent colour balance through out with some terrific highlites
THE POTTING SHED fires on all cylinders for me a remarkable artwork Age and decrepidness
brought to life with stunning light hovering over the whole piece
DINNER TONIGHT A visual invitation to eat drink and be merry
Exciting and pleasurable to view masterclass in painting
Janis Zroback in reply to blamo’s comment, 3 months ago
Wow…superb commentary on my work my dear T…I really love it..
I used these pictures to illustrate my point about preferring to do my own thing in my own way, and to show that it is possible to move from intricate works like “The Potting Shed” to soft airy ones like “Pears” and still entertain and engage the viewer…thank you so much…
A word about “Oranges”... it can’t be seen here, but it is heavily textured, almost 3d..I used a real orange, that I dried slowly so it kept it’s shape, and impressed it in fresh wet plaster…then I used a series of different glazes in layers….
I have used food that I have dried in this way in a number of pieces…in some pieces I have left the food embedded in the piece…does not photograph well though, because of final protective coatings, but I will try again soon to photograph them
Alison Pearce, 3 months ago
Great article!
Janis Zroback in reply to Alison Pearce’s comment, 3 months ago
Thank you Alison…glad you like the series…
Joanne A. Bradley, 3 months ago
Sorry I am so late for class! lol! It’s been a busy couple of weeks and doesn’t look like it will let up until fall~ Love your journals Janis. Always something new to learn about and give thought to. I so admire your resolve not to be pigeon-holed into a certain catergory of art! Bravo for you! And yet despite their attempts to construct a category for you, it is true that with all the varied subjects you paint, your love and expertise with bold color and your exquisite use of light make your work stand out as yours! I think this philosophy can apply to different arts even photography. I keep taking lots of photos of things, colors, subjects that interest me and hope that in general other people can connect to the same things I am seeing and will feel some of the emotion I felt at the time of the capture! Hearing your experiences is importaqnt to understand how the creative process must flow naturally. Keep those words coming! :-)
Janis Zroback, 3 months ago
Thank you Joanne…I think that as you do more and more photography, you will start to see a certain trend in the kind of shots you take…not in subject matter so much as in the use of the camera, the way you shoot light and shade etc. that will be yours and your alone..already your shots stand out as unique…more so as you use no editing to enhance the shot but your own creativity.
It took me a few years of painting to see this same trend in my own work…the use of colour and the use of light and shade…that’s my thing, and nowhere is it more apparent than in the new gallery where subjects are grouped together…there you can finally see a body of work that is recognizable as mine…
I have done a lot of tweaking there now and made some changes…when the search engines come by again, my ranking should improve…