How I began painting watercolors
on Maui, Hawaii
It was on the fourth floor of a small apartment by
California's Oakland Bay Bridge that I first began doing
watercolors. I can still hear the noisy hum of perpetual rush
hour on the colossal two-tiered bridge as I squeezed the
brand new tube of watercolor paint from Pearl's art store.
I sought to prove I could do it, having heard how difficult it
was and been sufficiently daunted by my high school art
teacher, Mrs. Ruth Ann Goold, whose watercolors were to
me both spectacular and impossible.
Mine looked like kiddie art when I thus began in 1998, and
it shocked me that after painting oils and acrylics I was not
able to produce anything of similar standard.
It was an all or nothing deal.
Fast forward to now where I have been able to hone some of
those watercolor techniques, develop a few new ones, and even
teach them to others!
I'm often asked where I get my inspiration from. That's hard to
say, as I'm made up of my experiences, desires, imaginings, and
wishes. I also pursue a spiritual path and this also has an effect
on my painting.
Watercolor never tires me and I never tire of it. It is like
working with a changeling -- there's always something new to
learn. It is like life.
Back to homepage.
I had been working at a 9 to 5 job at the
time and was only able to paint on
weekends. After a tiring week of work,
the only thing I craved was to get laundry
done and go grocery shopping, and
some TV in between. Therefore, it
wasn't surprising I only managed to
squeeze out one painting a month -- but
it bothered me.
Shortly after, I took my first trip to Maui,
Hawaii, and decided it was a good place
for a sabbatical. It was now or never.
So I returned to San Francisco and
worked for 3 more months just to make
sure my decision wasn't based on a
whim and that I truly needed to quit a
steady job in order to pursue art full-time.
Frances Ku
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