Why I Love Painting in Watercolor

Artwork and story by Janet Sidorovich

Art has always been a way for me to express myself. There are thoughts, feelings, and impressions that are difficult to explain in words, but they can become much clearer when I put them on paper. Painting gives me a way to slow down, observe the world around me, and turn what I see and feel into something visual. Among different art materials, watercolor has a very special place in my heart.

What I love most about watercolor is its transparency and light. There is something beautiful about seeing the white paper glowing through layers of color. Watercolor can look delicate and almost weightless, yet at the same time it can create very rich and expressive paintings. A transparent wash can suggest sunlight, atmosphere, skin tones, reflections, or a distant landscape without needing to describe every detail.

I also love the fact that watercolor cannot always be completely controlled. Water moves, pigments mix, edges soften, and sometimes unexpected things happen on the paper. I think this is part of what makes watercolor so interesting. You have to learn when to guide the paint and when to allow it to do its own work. Sometimes an accidental wash or unexpected mixture of colors becomes one of the most beautiful parts of a painting.

For me, art is also a lifelong learning process. No matter how much you practice, there is always something new to discover. Every painting presents a different challenge. Sometimes it is drawing and proportions. Sometimes it is color, light, composition, or finding the right balance between detail and simplicity. This is one of the reasons I never get tired of making art.

One of my main goals is to learn how to paint more realistically in watercolor. I want to become better at observing subtle changes in value and color and translating them onto paper. I would especially like to improve my ability to create convincing form while keeping the freshness and transparency that make watercolor so beautiful.

Realism in watercolor is particularly fascinating to me because it requires both precision and freedom. I want to learn how to create accurate shapes and proportions without making the painting look stiff or overworked. I would like to understand better how to use transparent layers, control edges, preserve highlights, mix natural colors, and create a sense of volume and depth.

I also want to become more confident. Confidence in painting does not mean that every brushstroke will be perfect. For me, it means understanding the medium well enough to make decisions without constantly hesitating. I want to know when a painting needs another layer and when it is time to stop. I want my technique to support my ideas rather than limit them.

Winning this competition would give me a wonderful opportunity to continue developing these skills and take my watercolor painting further. I would use this opportunity not simply to produce more paintings, but to become a more observant, knowledgeable, and expressive artist.

Why should people vote for me? Because I genuinely want to learn. I am interested not only in creating a beautiful finished picture, but also in understanding how and why a painting works. I am prepared to practice, experiment, make mistakes, and keep improving.

Most importantly, I want to preserve the qualities that first attracted me to watercolor - its transparency, luminosity, freshness, and sense of spontaneity. My goal is to combine these beautiful qualities with stronger realistic drawing and painting skills.

Every new painting is another opportunity to see the world more carefully and to express something personal through color and light. A vote for me would support that journey and give me another reason to keep learning, painting, and discovering what watercolor can do.

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