When Watercolor Meets Doodle

It’s already been three months since my last post… it was time to share a little update.

Watercolor Stained Glass style and art nouveau

Since January, I’ve been exploring the connection between my doodles and watercolor. At first, I tried to keep the clean, defined lines of doodling. I even created a piece that blends a stained-glass and Art Nouveau feel. While the concept is interesting, I find that it takes away from the natural fluidity of watercolor. I’m keeping the idea in mind to revisit it later using other mediums, like gouache or ink.

I then shifted toward a more intuitive approach, inspired by the improvisational side of my doodles. This time, I let the watercolor move freely across the paper, without trying to control it too much. I put on some music and simply let the creativity take over. The pigments flow with the water, without a specific goal, guided more by movement than intention.

First art piece inspired by the fluidity of background

Once the piece is dry, I take a step back and observe what emerges. I look for a shape, a theme, an image. Then I work to bring it out. It’s more challenging than with markers, because I try to preserve the organic feel of watercolor. I still have a lot to explore, but the results are surprising… and they make me want to push this process even further.

Here are the art pieces I created during the last few months:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LlGRIo9gyA

I also feel drawn to mixing different mediums. Even though I love watercolor, I equally enjoy working with markers, ink, and soft pastels. So why not combine them?

For those waiting on commissions, I’m planning a two-week creative sprint this summer. We’ll see how it goes, as our new house is still keeping me quite busy and taking up a lot of my time and headspace.

Happy creating!

Nathalie