Monday Art: A cool drink of water

Happy Monday! If you haven’t checked out Alison’s beautiful guest post from Open Mic Friday, please do so!

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“Today will be the hardest,” said Annette when we began watercolor class last Tuesday. “Since it’s been so hot, I thought we might paint something cool: a glass of water.”

She showed us a book of lushly spare Mark Adams still lifes, and did a quick demonstration herself. Then we all gamely began painting clear liquid in clear vessels on white backgrounds.

“There’s really no wrong way to do this,” she said kindly. “You could try working with only one or two colors and see how that comes out.”

I did one glass in red. Then Kato (the education director) came in to show us a vase of roses. The RAC is running a very thoughtful, poignant exhibit called Blossoms & Thorns: The Legacy of Richmond’s Japanese American Nurseries, and as Kato explained, one of the families shown in the exhibit has been sending roses to the center every week. After she left, I found large white petals on the counter and in the sink, and appropriated two of them for my second glass sketch in blue.

I’m now drinking out of the exact same kind of glass as the ones we drew in class. There’s a nice continuity in going from contemplating such a glass to using one and being grateful for it in a whole different way.