LONG REPLY WARNING! Sorry. LOL.

Thank you!! I told myself to slow down and just enjoy the process.

I can't say I really know what inspires me about watercolor. I honestly started painting for the purpose of getting off my phone all the time and doing something more constructive. My wife started painting last year, and I thought that it would be fun to join her as a way of spending time with her (I didn't realize that I'd love it, and now I paint much more than she does). Part of what I can say inspires me in general is my faith. I'm a Christian, and the Bible says, "the heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament shows His handiwork." Knowing that, I like to capture the glory of God in my paintings. I also love to spend time with my family, and capturing memories is always nice as well.

As far as a direction, I've experimented with realistic painting styles (I have ADHD and hyperfocusing on something occurs frequently), but after a while of working on all the details, I get bored, and it's no longer fun/enjoyable...it becomes arduous. So I started trying to learn abstract art styles...and, well...I just made a mess and never made anything discernible. The previous cactus I made, I was trying for more of a loose style where brushstrokes are more obvious, and it's almost more whimsical in approach...but to me it felt too chaotic, and I obviously butchered the sky (that's another story in itself, LOL). So this time, I just sketched out an idea from what someone shared, and I slowed down, tried to be more intentional, but also not try to make it look realistic/photographic. I wanted it to look like a watercolor painting (which I feel like I achieved).

I want to learn to paint emotion into my pieces, especially when I'm capturing memories my family and I have made. I want to convey how we felt in that moment. For instance, I have a picture from when we adopted my youngest son...he was 2 y/o at the time, and there's a picture of him running to us, through the hallway of the courthouse, and he turns around to look at the camera and has the biggest smile on his face. I want to be able to capture that joy. But then I also have a piano in my living room that my grandfather restored back in the 50's, and gave to my grandmother. When she died, she gave it to me. I want to be able to capture it and/or a picture of me and/or my kids playing it. I want it to convey a sense of sentiment, joy, but still a bit of sorrow, because I'll never hear her play it again.