Watercolor Notes June 18, 2026 In this issue Reader responses to last week's newsletter My crazy day What's available Question of the week Looking Back Hi Reader,In my last newsletter, I wrote about creative resistance, the invisible force field that shows up right when you’re supposed to be painting. I used the analogy of magnets that I played with as a kid. No matter how hard you push the opposing poles together, they won’t go. That’s what resistance feels like, not laziness, just a force...

Watercolor Notes:Resistance with a capital R A recent plein air painting Hi Reader, Here's a very random analogy for you, so stick with me...growing up on a ranch, there were always a couple of cow magnets in my dad's animal-medical kit. I played with them as a kid and no matter how you tried to push the opposing sides together, they just wouldn't go. There was this invisible force field of resistance between them, and I could feel the push against my hands. (In case you're wondering, cow...

Watercolor Notes Hi Reader, I hope your May has been a creative one so far. I took Ellie to the beach yesterday and she dug a big hole. What she really loves is rescuing a small stick from the depths of the sand. If I find a stick and push it down into the hole she’s already dug, the game really begins. It’s serious work and play at the same time. She has to problem-solve and that’s what she loves most. This is similar to the reason why I enjoy watercolor painting so much. Painting is one...