Claim OwnershipWatercolor Conversations with Cara Brown
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© 2026 Watercolor Conversations with Cara Brown
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The observations and thoughts of a watercolorist and mentor/teacher to others who are, as she is, devoted to this painting medium. Join Cara for her stories of life and art-making, the intersection inbetween and the wisdom she discovers along the way.
47 Episodes
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Underneath the color, the water, the light, the composition — woven through it all— is ingredient we haven't expressly talked about. You. No matter how much experience you have, or how much success you've found, you are never NOT in your paintings. There is only one of you that will ever exist in all of time. Only one person who can make the art you're here to make. Learning to paint mostly isn't about the techniques. It's about becoming more yourself — and revealing that to the...
Compositoin! It's a step back to consider what goes in and what doesn't, what variety to include, how elements relate to each other - and then how all of that will be bounded in shape and size. I'm sharing my thoughts on how it is that consider all of this in my paintings - my process of composing a painting. I don't follow rules, I don't even think too much. It's a felt thing. In case reflecting on my process is helpful, here it is! The "round" painting I menont...
We started this series with color. Now, with several episodes of painting experience behind us, we come back to it — and it looks different from here. This episode draws from my second color workshop - where we limit the paints we work with. I start with an idea that genuinely blew my mind when I first realized it: the primary colors we all learned in grade school aren't the real primary colors. We also look at what happens when you deliberately limit your palette. I've pai...
My antidote for overwhelm. If when faced with a complicated section of a painting, you've thought: how on earth am I going to paint this? — this episode is for you. It's the other half of the Making it Real pair of workshops. Painting detail isn't about special techniques or clever tools. For me it's more about strategies to stay with it, keep from trying to "organize" the detail in your reference, and paint just enough detail to make the point, but not so much it bec...
This episode is one half of the Making it Real workshops from Watercolor Basics and Beyond. Creating volume — when it seems like you could reach out and actually grab the subjects of a painting. In order to do so, we make use of what I shared in the past three episodes. Water and edges. Shape, shade, color. Light and dark. Soft backgrounds. All of it comes together here, helping our art to look like its subjects come off the paper! Link to the painting Fascination, I mentin...
Besides "the light," a characteristic of my paintings are my out-of-focus backgrounds. I'm asked often how to make this happen. I this episode I share my thoughts - about working with the paint and brushes to make distinct shapes with soft edges. it can be tricky! They are more work than some artists want to put into the areas around their subjects, but I find them an important part of the story our paintings are telling. This is a workshop in my series Watercolor Basi...
The illusion of light in our paintings is a magical thing. Using just contrast between dark and light - and the subtleties of relative shades between, we can create a world. In this episode, the forth in our series, hear how in response to a short question, I came up with the four aspects of how it is that I (at least) create worlds of light in my paintings. Includes ideas from a post orignally published under the same title "Painting the Light" on May 31, 2017 which ...
In this next stop we head inside - our brains and our perception. Our brains are brilliant shortcut machines — and when we're painting, that can get completely in the way. This episode is about how we see — or rather, how we can learn to see again, as if for the first time. Shape Shade Color is a practical strategy for those moments when you're stuck in front of a painting and your inner critic is picking apart what you've just painted. Have it help you figure out where to go next...
This is the second episode in this series - all about the water. Watercolor isn't watercolor without water — and yet it's the water that trips most of us up. In this episode I share three principles I keep coming back to, what I think of as the physics of watercolor on paper. Once you understand them, so much of what this medium does starts to make sense. This is the first workshop in my series Watercolor Basics and Beyond. I plan to offer it in segments online coming soon....
We begin with color — not as a set of rules, but as a relationship. I don't teach color theory, I teach color practice. I can think of no better way to start - especially if you are starting from scratch, than what I share here. In this episode I share sections from two previously published episodes: The Two Faces of Color, which looks at color as an idea — abstract, personal, full of surprises — and Starting at the Beginning with Paint, which starts at that beginning place ...
I made something for you! My first intentional series of Watercolor Conversation episodes. They are a visit to the ideas and information I share in my regular workshops. Teaching from me - right here - for you to take on the go. I arranged them in the same sequence that I teach - as a progression of what I have to say about making watercolor paintings in the way that I do. For regular listeners, you'll find some of them familiar. I've re-purposed existing episode...
I take a bit of a departure in this episode. I share my thoughts about a poem called "Mameen" by David Whyte. When I first read it, this poem reflected for me the remarkable life of my friend Vicki - Dr. Victoria Bentley - and the courage and freedom she lived inside. Vicki passed away recently, which brought this poem back to me again. I'm sharing it with you, in memory and appreciation of my dear friend who accompanied me in the early stages of painting, showing my ...
1I share the outcome of this past summer's 92 Days of Watercolor and a project I embarked upon to paint more loosely. I was inspired by a long-ago painting that came back to me. The idea came to me that I could paint eleven more paintings in a similar style and make a mini calendar out of them. When I recorded this I had only painted four of them and was uncertain about the outcome. I finished the paintings and put together a small calendar I call "Momentos." You...
In this episode I share how I find continued value in the way Iain McGilchrist's book The Master and His Emissary reframed my understanding of our left and right brains - not only as it applies to our creative process and working with our craft, but how it can guide us in how we work with artificial intelligence. No doubt it will be a major aspect of our future. My original post that inspired this is here: https://www.lifeinfullcolor.com/journal/art-life-stories...
In this - a little bit longer episode - I share the story behind writing my interpretation of The Beatitudes - eight ancient teachings - for those of us who dare to create. My wish is to support us in creating with our singular vision and voice. Then, I share each of the eight Beatitudes. It's a combination of three consecutive journal entries, the first of which I called Supremely Blessed. https://www.lifeinfullcolor.com/journal/art-life-stories/april-26-2017-supreme-...
Here's an art-making-oriented episode - a practical one. I'm sharing my thoughts on how it is that I decide the form of my paintings - my process of composing a painting. I don't follow rules, I don't even think too much. It's a felt thing. In case reflecting on my process is helpful, here it is! There's no post on my (now new!) website about this. And, you can go there to see all the results of my composing paintings over the years! www.lifeinfullcolor.com The "round" pain...
Doing all this myself, this was bound to happen. A big silent space ended up right in the middle. It's now fixed. I'm sharing this one again, with a short intro and update on an interaction I had with the mailman that I mentioned in the original episode. I felt the need to hear this message today. Here it is on the top of the stack in case you want to hear it - or hear it again - too. This is a calendar time-specific episode, though the ideas are applicable fo...
We get crucial life-fuel from what lights us up. I am here to say that doing what brings us alive is worth the effort to carve out time for. This episode was inspired by a recent experience where I felt this kind of energy - and it reminded me of a journal post I wrote in April of 2016. https://lifeinfullcolor.com/journal/art-life-stories/april-5-2016-brings-us-alive/ Here you'll find my words and the photos of Lenore, Sue and I - and the beauty in the gardens of Filoli tha...
I get really practical in this episode. I share with you the very best way to start out your watercolor experience - as well a great exercise if you've been painting forever and what is in all those tubes is still somewhat a mystery. Get Intimate with Color is a workshop I teach - and there is one coming up on January 25-26 - in person, in the studio in Novato, CA. If you are local, or able to come to the Bay Area then, I invite you to join in and do the exercise with me in real ...
I just discovered a recording I made - and then in the swirl of my life this past summer, I completely forgotten about. It was late one night and I was in the car with the dog, while waiting at the emergency. I was prompted to share it here after reading a Facebook post from my dear friend Betsy Graziani Fasbinder about the lifecycle of butterflies. Just before recording I read about an aspect of this creature's makeup that I found fascinating - and applicable to human unfolding: ...
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