As I was on a boat ride with my family in the marshlands off the Mississippi Gulf Coast, I had this bittersweet feeling about the moment playing out right before my eyes. Everything just seemed right. I was surrounded by my mom, dad and husband on this perfect afternoon soaking in the last moments of light and the crisp salt air.
As I brought out my sketch pad to attempt to capture the moment, it was like no color I was seeing could replicate that feeling of pure bliss.
I was caught between enjoying the moment and wanting to capture it on paper.
I chose to enjoy the moment, so in turn, I ended up with vague pencil sketches of the landscape. I thought that the sketches would lead to nothing honestly. They looked empty and too vague to create a finished painting from.
As I started to paint this series, I returned to my sketchbook searching for some inspiration. Those same sketches that I thought were so empty, were actually filled with the memories from that perfect little boat ride.
I could picture the scenes and remember that same feeling all over again. I try to always paint from real life, but painting from a colorless sketch actually allowed my memory and imagination to combine resulting in these colorful, nostalgic paintings.
I know this series of paintings will always take me back to that bittersweet memory, and I hope they remind others of their own special, blissful memories.
This series consists of 18 watercolors on paper, sizes ranging from 5x7 inches to 18x24 inches. It will be available shop through The Campbell Collective on Thursday, July 30th.
So excited to share these with yall!
