Deep Breaths and layers of colors

I wanted to share a note on my painting philosophy. It stems from a line in the book 'A Gentleman in Moscow'. I had a relatively busy week and made relatively simple paintings. The white column in this painting was unplanned, I was simply trying to squeeze in more paintings per paper. It ended up looking like the view through the window, a happy coincidence (well, at least to me).

Here’s a line from the book- A Gentleman in Moscow which has inspired my painting philosophy. The book traces the life of a man (Rostov) under house arrest at the Metropol Hotel in the wake of the Bolshevik Revolution. When asked whether he wrote a poem, Rostov replies-

“It demanded to be written. I simply happened to be at the particular desk on the particular morning when it chose to make its demands.”

That’s how I like to see my paintings, as entities with their own will who demand to be painted.

"The painting demanded to be made. I just happened to be at the particular desk when it chose to make its demands."

I feel that a painting is an interaction between four entities- the painter, the brush, the paints and the paper. I don’t like controlling paintings too much, I rather think of paintings as having a will of their own and all I do is merely guide them a little. I try to not feel bad when my paintings don't end up as I had planned. Especially, in a fluid medium like watercolor, there is always some uncertainty. With practice, I do understand the interactions of colors and water better, yet these interactions always find a way to surprise me. I feel this medium is very dynamic, and this fluidity keeps me excited. I  feel that I sometimes enjoy looking at paintings under construction, rather than the final piece. This is one of the reasons which drew me towards making process videos a few days back. Pausing for a while and revisiting paintings later, actually makes me both appreciate and critique them better. This makes the process of painting more fulfilling for me. I mainly pursue painting as a hobby and I don't wish to burden it with ambitions and/or expectations.

Would love to hear your thoughts. My art philosophy is not set in stone, I keep making updates once in a while, the last major one being this winter when I read parts of the book A Gentleman in Moscow.

Hope you have been well. Take care! :)