Jean  Coughlin

I have been painting in Watercolor since I was a child. As a retired professional in the photographraphic industry I don't find it interesting to try and paint with the realism of a photograph. My goal is to let the water move the the paint around the page and help me create imagery that has a veil of realism while still just being a swirl of brushwork and color. I am a fast painter and don't worry too much about the subject until it emerges usually in a landscape of some kind. If I haven't painted in a while I need to remember how to paint again and so I start by painting pears. That leads to other subjects like my recent Koi series available in notecards. My successful paintings should create a feeling of airy warmth or cool wind. The result is more about the idea of a landscape you want to walk through on a day with nothing else in mind but the fresh air and the cool breeze, the warmth of the sun or the harshness of the wind. It's the impression that counts not the details.