Painting
Beyond what we see
Discover nature through imagination and personal interpretation
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Discover inspiration: Find possibilities in everyday surroundings.
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Beyond appearances: Explore shapes, patterns, and movement.
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Spark imagination: Transform subjects into the unexpected.
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Express yourself: See through your own emotions & experience.
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No experience necessary: Explore at any skill level.
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Create at your own pace: Adapt your time, energy, and abilities.
Take a moment to observe something around you. It might be a flower, a tree branch, a landscape, or even an interesting shape. Notice its colors, movement, and patterns. Then imagine how you might interpret it differently.​​
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Begin with what you see and explore what you imagine.
The goal isn't to produce something perfectly. It's to discover new possibilities by seeing the familiar differently.
How to See Beyond?
Seeing Differently
Discover how ordinary subjects can become extraordinary through imagination. Begin with something familiar from nature, a photograph, or a memory, and explore how colors, shapes, and perspectives can transform what you see.
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Rather than copying every detail, allow yourself to exaggerate, simplify, rearrange, or invent. A flower might become a flowing pattern of colors, while the branches of a tree might inspire an entirely new composition.​
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What begins with observation becomes your own interpretation.
What you will need
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Watercolor Paints: I started with a $16 Amazon set that came with a floral book
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Watercolor Paper or Practice Book: Quality paper is worth it, if you can afford it.​​
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Container for water: Any jar will do.
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Brushes: Some paints come with a brush set. You can also buy them or ask a neighbor.​​
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Sponge or Paper Towel: To dab or dry your brush, helping control paint flow and effects.
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Creative Space: Table, desk, or even a bedside table.
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A flat surface or board to support the paper and control water flow. ​
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Time - Patience - Practice - Letting go - Being kind to yourself.
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These are the materials I used for my paintings. Feel free to experiment with acrylics, colored pencils, or other supplies you already have.
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Favorite Watercolor Supplier: CozyLark.com
Where I purchase my watercolor practice books
Getting Started
Let your creativity flow!
Observe: Find Inspiration
Look and remember the world around you. Look at the flowers, a blooming walking path, tree leaves and branches, or an ocean, and remember the patterns, colors, shapes, and movements in the wind. Simplicity is the best inspiration.
Discover: Beyond the Detail
Spend time choosing your subject. Look at the twisted lines in a branch, how leaves over lap, the texture in grasses, the colors in a wildflower garden. What feelings do you get from the lines and shapes you see? How do they speak to you?
Imagine: What Could Be
Move beyond what you see. How can you change the colors and shapes, exaggerate the lines, and adjust the flow? Turn an ocean into a sunset in motion, and make soft hills kiss the skyline. Sketch a few ideas and experiment in unexpected ways.
Interpretation: Your Own
What are the simplest shapes and textures you can recreate? A swirl of a shell, dots for flowers, straight curved lines for stems? Keep part of the subject recognizable and then add your own flowing interpretation to the painting subjects.
Explore: Follow Possibilities
Add overlapping shapes, unexpected colors, change line directions, and introduce new patterns and textures. One shape may suggest another, or an unexpected color change may lead your painting in a different direction.
Reflect: Your Interpretation
Look at what you created. Think about the original object and lines. How did you change and interprete them to create something new? Your interpretation tells a different story—one of perfection within perhaps imperfections through creativity.
Tips to Experiment With
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Begin with something familiar. Look for inspiration:
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Walking, photography, from your memory
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Flowers, leaves, trees, branches, landscapes, hillsides, sunsets
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Choose something simple that inspires you, instead of complicated ​​​
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Look beyond the obvious. Instead of focusing on every detail notice:​​
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Basic shapes, colors, lines, shadows​ and movement
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Ask: What makes this interesting? What can I exaggerate?
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Experiment with unexpected colors going beyond what you see.
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Purple leaves, pink trees, blue flowers, orange mountains
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Change shapes and proportions.​
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Stretch, curve, enlarge, simplify ​
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Focus on one small detail, making that the center of your painting
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Let shapes move, connect and overlap beyond their boundaries
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Try different mediums like acrylics, color pencils, pens with the same ideas.
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Let your painting evolve. Change direction of lines and let go of control.
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Observe your interpretation and see what you create beyond reality.​
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Find the shapes you love to paint and follow your heart!
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Every Perspective Reveals Something New
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Sometimes the most interesting discoveries happen when looking at something familiar differently. A flower becomes a collection of flowing shapes, a branch transforms into a pattern, and ordinary colors give way to imagination.​
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There is no single way to interpret what you see. Each choice of color, line, and shape brings something uniquely yours to the painting.
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KEEP EXPLORING!
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Look around you for inspiration. Take a walk, explore your backyard, revisit a photograph, or draw from memory. Choose something that catches your attention and imagine how you might transform it.
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Remember, you don't have to paint exactly what you see. Allow curiosity to guide you and discover what lies beyond the ordinary.