The Story of a Painting: Glorious

The ability to see colour is a gift that I never want to take for granted. As a painter, I am constantly thinking "how would I paint that?" and over the years it has changed how I see. The first glance at a scene only takes in the surface, and looking deeper means that I see more.

I'm not a photographer. I have a camera, and I love taking reference photos to guide my paintings, but the photos are limited. They don't really capture the emotion, the sense of place. In painting I have the freedom to go deeper.

It's a battle because what's on the surface is so easy to see, and I can fill a painting with the "small talk" of detail without ever really connecting to the heart of why I chose that image to paint.

Small talk is easy to fall into, it's comfortable, when painting from a deeper place can be frightening. It's hard to hear one's inner voice, and even harder to find a way to free it to flow onto paper. And it's a soft, tender thing to share with the world.

"Glorious" watercolour on paper by Angela Fehr 11. 5" x 11.5" available here

I'd like to think that making art has made me more courageous, more connected, more open to who I am and what I want to say. And maybe this is true. It is thrilling when my "words" of watercolour bring me together with others who read their own hearts' thoughts in my paintings, and I know I have so much more to say.

own art that speaks to you! reserve the original painting here