Welcome to the newest gallery in JAC’s Gallery of the Month series, where we showcase a wide range of art and writing under unique monthly themes. Check back on the first of each month for a new collection of works by the talented artists in the JAC network. To view past galleries of the month, see our Gallery Archive.
“Freedom is the nature of life…if you don’t know how to paint just put the brush on paper and make beautiful art. Nothing is perfect.” ~ Angelica Soto
Water is a theme that often arises among artists in JAC’s network. For the month of July, the Gallery of the Month team decided to highlight the healing power of water through watercolor pieces.
Water is both adaptive and freeing. It exists everywhere, is constantly in motion, and resists confinement. It is constantly changing, resilient, and images of water often bring a sense of calm and possibility. Watercolor painting is an exploration of motion and the act of relinquishing control over the way the medium behaves can be exhilarating and liberating. As you scroll through this gallery, we hope you notice the ways in which artists have utilized water and paint to convey different moods and feelings, and reflect on what the pieces evoke in you.
“[Freedom] means not having to justify my existence to another human being on a daily basis. It means being able to have a dream and follow it. See it through to its fruition. I mean dreams are fluid and that kind of goes to the water aspect with the fish. You know, fish live in an environment that is constantly changing and moving around them, and that’s what life is like for me right now.” ~ Carole Alden
We hope you enjoy this month’s gallery: World Watercolor Month
“I’m A River” song by Claude “Kelley” Kirk I was born of the rain, on a colder autumn day The only son of consequence, and a bitter fall from grace I grew up like the rapids, runnin’ wild through the hills And when the rue of winter comes, well I’ll be running still ‘Cause I’m a river, without a river bed Sometimes I just wander around, nowhere to lay my head If I only had a valley, that I could call my own But I guess the muddy waters must roll Must roll, on and on One time I nearly dried up, and offered you my hand When you swam into my drift, wrote your name in my sand So unafraid to drown, you drew me with every breath You waded in my shallows, and fathomed every depth But you knew the rains would come, and soon that I would flood ‘Cause the waters of this river, run faster than our blood The only reason for a river, is to forever run And who am I to question, what fate has gone and done
