Glow by Lady E

I keep seeing these Pentel Vistage Watercolor Sticks at SM Stationery. And every time I see them, I look. Then I leave them there. I was curious about them, but my friend told me they were student grade. Apparently, that was enough to lodge itself somewhere in my brain as you don’t need those. So I didn’t buy them. I actually saw them again just last Saturday. Looked at them. Still didn’t buy them. Except this time, I had completely forgotten about something rather important. My $4 Mont Marte watercolors. I’ve been exploring painting more seriously lately, and those inexpensive little watercolor tubes surprised me. They may not be fancy, but they work really well with my hand and the way I naturally paint. And that’s making me rethink the way I’ve been judging art materials. Maybe the question isn’t always: Is this professional grade? Maybe sometimes it’s: What can I do with this? Because a material can have all the impressive credentials in the world and still fight my...

I’ve only been painting for roughly 2 months.  I’m not even sharing all of them on my personal Facebook.  For a time, I couldn’t embrace my artist crown. I felt like my work wasn’t good enough for public consumption. And then a client ordered my Lemon Grove notepads .  And then she asked me to make her a notebook with a sunflower.  I didn’t tell her that I painted the sunflower.  I showed her the design and she approved.  And then I told her I painted it.  After a few days, she asked for a planner.  With sunflowers, too. So I took my brush and  painted more sunflowers.  And she liked it! I couldn’t describe the joy and pride that swelled in my chest when I read “approved” in my phone.  I couldn’t believe it! Someone likes my paintings!  The following week, I got more orders, and this time for planners. Teacher gifts.  And this new client specifically asked for my paintings to be on the covers of the planners.  She saw...