Discovering Watercolor with Julia Dufault McGrath

Art has always been a part of my life.  As a young child I remember pouring through pages of the works of Michelangelo, over and over, marveling at the paintings of the "Sistine Chapel" and his exquisite marbles.  Seeing the Sistine Chapel in person after studying it for so many years was a moving experience  I will never forget.

I doodled, drew and painted with markers or colored pencils.  My Grandfather was a designer for General Motors and he had hundreds of markers in every color imaginable.  It was a great treat for me to use them.  Then, one year under the Christmas Tree, I found my first set of brushes, paints and palette in a beautiful wooden box!

While attending University with the intent of getting a degree in Art History and traveling to Europe several times, my eyes and heart were opened to the vast world of inspiring and beautiful art.  I realized that I didn't just want to learn about art, my strong desire was to be an active participant and create art myself.  Witnessing history, myths, stories and the everyday lives of people recorded in paint and brush was a catalyst for my desire to paint and to be a part of that world.  I earned my Bachelor of Fine Arts with a major in painting and a minor in Art History, which satisfied both my intellectual and creative needs.

My early years of painting were in oil, but later,  while carrying my first child, I started my work in Watercolors.  What a challenge!  My whole thinking process had to change!  Everything seemed backwards.  I had to learn how to control the water and accept what it and the pigment decided to do when they married on paper.  Watercolor quickly became my favorite medium.  I find it to be so unalterable, spontaneous and fresh!  I never use "white" paint, I am a purist in that sense, and so the white in my paintings is always the "white" of the paper.  What I put down is what you get and there is not turning back.  watercolor is such a direct and honest way to paint.

I am happiest when painting.  With Jazz or Classical music in the background, I let myself slip into a zone where there is nothing but me, the brush and the paint before me.  Mixing colors is akin to playing in the sand box or building sand castles on the beach.  True joy.

I begin with a drawing and transfer it to the watercolor paper, then start applying subtle washes, mapping out key areas of color, mixing color and sometimes not.  Sometimes, its most called for to lay a wash of pure pigment from the tube over another color to make it sing! 

I love subject matter with strong contrasts, vibrant colors and deep beautiful shadows most.  An image or subject that has those qualities is what I am drawn to paint.  Color and shadows, especially the shadows!  There is so much subtle beauty in them.  It is a gift to be able to look deeply into what "appears" to be on the surface and what you "think" is there, and really "see" it's glory.  My job as an artist is to transfer what I see, how I see and how I feel from my hand, paint and brush, back to you, and in doing so bring you visual pleasure.