Dive into the world of watercolour with Katie Thomas and find out how you can create your very own watercolour paintings.
Based in the beautiful subtropics of Colombia in South America, Aussie artist Katie Thomas inspires her Instagram and YouTube followers with her bright, fun, and playful watercolour paintings and digital illustrations.
As part of Teen Breathe’s Self-care Month, we spoke to Katie about her deep love of painting and how getting lost in the creative process helps to calm and quiet her mind. She also shares her tips for beginning your very own watercolour painting and the benefits of forgetting the rules and having fun with it!
Keep reading to find out how you can enter our competition to win a painting kit to help you on your self-care journey.
Can you tell us about yourself and how you came to love watercolour painting and digital artistry?
I’m an Aussie currently living overseas in Colombia, South America. I’m a cat mum, wife, and I have way too many plants. I also have an Etsy store where I sell printable and digital illustrated stationery and planner accessories. I also make fabric patterns from my illustrations that I sell on the online fabric site Spoonflower.
I came to love watercolour painting particularly in 2018. I have always been very creative, painting in acrylic paint for a long time, and going through stages of sewing, beading, and making purses. I love to try my hand at everything creative. I always found watercolour painting to be incredibly beautiful and thought it was something I just couldn’t do. I actually tried my hand at it and had terrible results, but a few years later I tried again, and it clicked. I find the unique shapes made by the paint and water mixing to be mesmerising. I also have an iPad where I mimic watercolour painting in the program Procreate. I love the convenience of using the iPad and it’s great for when I run out of watercolour supplies.
What are your top tips for starting out with watercolour painting?
- Learn the basics so that you feel comfortable to put paint to paper. The first thing that I did when learning was watch a couple of beginner videos on YouTube. I found them to be a great first step and I immediately felt less intimidated.
- Experiment without judgement. The second thing I did was get out some paint and paper and started experimenting. This is how I learned the most, by seeing how the paint interacted with the paper by altering how much water I used. For example, the paint will behave differently if you wet the paper before painting, versus painting on dry paper. You can also use salt water to get some really cool effects. I went to the kitchen and mixed a few things with the water to see what interesting results I could get.
- Start with the lightest colours and work your way to the darker colours, leave any line work for last. Watercolour painting is all about layering the paint, and it is a different approach than painting with acrylics or oil paints.
- Don’t worry too much about technique and rules. I personally really don’t like when rules are applied to a creative medium as I feel that it can limit creativity. If you learn through experimentation, then you can develop a unique style that you can be recognised by as you won’t be too influenced by what you are ‘supposed’ to do. I have seen watercolour done in many different ways. It all depends on you, as you want your art to be an expression of yourself.
How does watercolour painting and being creative benefit your mental health?
I find that taking time to work on a creative project is investing in time for yourself. In that moment you can focus entirely on what you are doing and get lost in the creative process in a really mindful way. It gives you some time away from the difficult and stressful situations from your day-to-day life that can aggravate mental health issues. Creating a piece of art that you love can be super fulfilling, too. What I particularly love with watercolour is as much as you try to control the process the paint still kind of does its own thing and you won’t know how your art is really going to look until the paint dries. You can end up with some beautiful surprises. Sometimes I struggle with needing to have control over a situation and I find this detail about watercolour paint to be freeing. It forces you to trust the process.
How do you take time out for yourself to de-stress and recharge?
I love diving into a creative project – it’s probably the number one most fulfilling activity for me. When I’m working on something I love to put on an audiobook or podcast, so I get the benefit of being entertained at the same time. I get through a lot of books this way. I also really like to get lost in a good Netflix series also – anything that is historical, or a mystery will hook me. My partner and I have also just moved closer to relatives and as we went through over six months of lockdown on our own here in Colombia. We now like to spend at least one day a week hanging out with family.
What hobbies do you have? Why do you enjoy them?
Aside from creative hobbies, the number one thing that I’m really into right now is plants. I just went through a very overwhelming experience in my life, and I found that caring for plants, propagating plants, and growing plants from seeds has kept me really calm. Every day I wake up and check on my plants, tend to them throughout the day and give them a goodnight check too. My partner is also very into plants, and we have found that this is a relaxing activity we like doing together. We set aside a little bit of money each month for a trip to the nursery for new plants. We are fortunate in that we live in a subtropical area, so the weather is on our side.
What are five fun facts about you that people may not already know?
- I have an obsession with loose leaf tea. I am currently trying to grow herbs to turn into tea blends, but honestly, my stash of herbs is already outrageous.
- I used to be a face paint artist and would often dress up as a fairy princess to paint kids’ faces while I was putting myself through uni.
- I have a law degree, I don’t practise law as the pull to work in a creative field was too strong for me, but it’s an achievement I am proud of.
- I quit my job in Australia and moved overseas twice. All I can say is follow your heart for love and for the love of what you do. See the world while you can (when it is safe to do so and the world opens back up).
- I love travelling and have been to around 20 countries so far, funded by my part-time jobs. I really love learning about other cultures and the unique histories of the world. Just before the pandemic my mum came to visit me in South America, and we got to visit Machu Picchu in Peru. It was an incredible experience culturally and historically.
You can purchase Katie’s artworks from her Etsy and Spoonflower store and follow her on Instagram at @katiethomascreative and on YouTube.
To help you on your self-care journey, we’re giving you the chance to WIN 1 of 2 Paint Like Frida Cosy Koala Kits! This competition will be open on October 26, so make sure you go to our Instagram and Facebook pages at @teenbreatheau then to enter!
