More Quarantine Watercolor Projects: Learning Through Experimentation
The quarantine season put a strain on everyone, and it quietly stripped away a lot of the usual outlets I relied on to manage stress. For me, that outlet had always been a Ghosh yoga class — something I leaned on whenever anxiety started to creep in. With that off the table and my days somehow busier than ever, I went looking for a new way to give my mind a break.
Thirty minutes a day, no rules attached
What I found was watercolor. Just thirty minutes a day became a small, dedicated pocket of time to let my brain step away from thinking and simply create. Below are some of the daily results from that practice — a loose, ongoing record of color and instinct rather than a polished portfolio.
Learning through experimentation, not tutorials
I made a deliberate choice not to follow along with tutorials or worry about doing things the “right” way. Instead, I used this time to experiment freely, treating each piece as a small study in color, composition, and instinct rather than a finished product. That freedom is exactly what’s made the practice so valuable — it’s given me a looser, more playful relationship with color that’s started to show up in how I see light and composition behind the camera, too. It’s a good reminder that creativity doesn’t need permission or expertise to be worthwhile — just time and attention.
Creative practice off-camera has a way of feeding the work I do on it, and these small daily paintings have become part of that process. I hope you enjoy this glimpse into it.
Thirty minutes a day is a start. A whole week of it is better, which is why I opened an artist residency out in Joshua Tree.
Frequently asked questions
Why did you start painting watercolors during quarantine?
My usual stress outlet, a Ghosh yoga class, wasn’t available during quarantine, so I started spending thirty minutes a day with watercolors instead, as a way to quiet my mind.
Do you follow watercolor tutorials?
No — these pieces were intentionally made without tutorials, using the time to experiment freely with color and composition rather than follow a set technique.
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