Digital painting White Roses Photo White Roses Watercolor painting White Roses   I received an interesting question from collector and long-time fan Valerie D. (OK, she is also my sister!) when the digital painting "White Roses" went out on New Art Alerts.   A few months ago Valerie had an opportunity to try my digital painting process with me at her elbow. I think she was referring back to that when, after complimenting the painting, she suggested "digital is so much more work than hand brushwork that I would be limiting it to things more graphic, where nuances of color are not an important part of the composition..."   I love input like this, that really stirs me to think about the art process. Her idea of choosing my medium based on the fine complexities of color in the subject totally caught my attention. For a few days I kept asking myself, "Why DO I choose digital or watercolor or acrylic for a specific piece of art?" and "If I do the same painting in two different mediums, is one just a study for the other?" and "Which one should I do first?" So often my medium choice has to do with what tools and materials are at hand, what is portable enough to come with me, how much time I have and practical process elements like that. Or possibly an upcoming show's entry criteria. If I have been including color nuances in the equation, it has been subconsciously.   The White Roses project started with climbing on the rocks to take a few photographs one day when I saw how the late afternoon sun was transforming these roses. I knew that I wanted to be up close and the unusual perspective (from slightly below) happened to be the shot that caught the light most creatively.   Then I started the long, slow digital painting process. About half way through the digital painting, I decided to pause and paint it in watercolor, because I wanted a thank-you gift to give to the owner of the garden where they grew. I took everything that I had learned in the very detailed study that digital painting requires and tried to apply it in watercolor and ink. The result is not bad, but lacks the luminescence of the digital painting. Maybe in another 10 years, I will have the skills to produce an equally beautiful painting in each medium.   For now, I conclude that some things will just turn out better in one medium than another. Other things will be better in the second or third medium. To understand the exact criteria that makes that happen, I just need to keep painting and painting and painting until my painter's gut understands it, even if I am never able to wrap words around it. But at this stage I will be paying more attention and trying to learn from every choice.   Have you ever gotten feedback that unexpectedly set you off on a thought and growth journey? It's fun, isn't it?   Nan   P.S. I really enjoy art and newsletter comments from all of you! Thank you for being encouraging and thought provoking.