Hi everyone! Thank you for joining me.

My life with watercolor has been a tumultuous one as a self-taught artist. Watercolor can be brilliant and stark, or soft and subtle. It can be a challenge with its tendency to bleed, fade, cauliflower, and stain unforgivingly. We have to consider the air’s humidity, the paper’s water saturation, and most importantly … timing … when and where to dab your paint. It may seem like I have a plan for a painting, but once I get started, it’s all about damage control. Like Woody says in Toy Story, “That’s not flying, that’s falling with style!”

My dad taught me the basics of watercolor in the best way his stoic, Swiss immigrant self could: “You make a drawing, you put in the colors, then you put in the shadows. … and you can’t use white.” He made great paintings and I would just sit and watch — and cry. 

It was like witchcraft! First he made a drawing in perspective; then he added flat colors; then he finished with the final shading — I couldn’t believe it when the whole painting came to life.

My dad was taught by his own father, a Swiss watchmaker, who, in turn, learned from his uncle, Edmond Reuter. Turns out, Edmond was a professional artist who worked with William Morris back in the early 1900’s.

I didn’t really try watercolor seriously until I was in my twenties. My wife, Beth, and I were financially strapped and had to get a wedding present. We didn’t want to spend money on another set of wooden salad spoons … so I tried doing a painting. I did what my dad said

You make a drawing, you put in the colors, then you put in the shadows. … and you can’t use white.

and it turned out pretty good! Perhaps some maturity is required for watercolor, and I hadn’t had it until then (still working on that). Thirty years later, it is still on the bride and groom’s wall..

Life has kept me occupied working as a Web Developer and being a father. Recently, I’ve been able to focus on improving my artistic skills and developing new techniques. I’m sure some of the techniques past down from my relatives may have become “diluted” over the generations and there are more modern ways that I can discover.

I call my site “Watercolor Reflections” because I do a lot of thinking while I paint. It’s one of those things that makes the hours pass like minutes as I spend time with my late Dad, my ancestors who I never knew, think about my offspring that I’ve yet to meet, and am grateful for the opportunities and challenges that led me to this point in time.

I hope this project will allow me to pass on some joy of painting and some “reflections” on what is ultimately true on paper and in life.

I’ll also try to expand on my dad’s original watercolor instructions and learn how to fall with style!