Mindful Watercolor Painting
With Dr. Judith Hong
Watercolor painting can be a very calming, mindful, and creative practice even to a complete beginner. In this workshop you will learn some basics of watercolor painting, including basic brush strokes, color theory, and color mixing. Then we will create an abstract painting of different circles of colors that can be layered upon with pen and ink. The focus is more on the mindfulness and enjoyment of the process of painting, rather than trying to "create" a finished product. There will also be time to just play around with your brush and paint.
About the Artist
I am a board-certified dermatologist in Santa Rosa. Watercolor and other forms of creative activities have been a source of tremendous healing for me. After losing my house in the Tubbs Fire in 2017, I was overwhelmed with the loss and the rebuild. Then in 2019, after being on 1 year of life-support, my mother passed away. This was then followed by the pandemic, and with my clinic mostly shut down, I desperately needed something to help calm my nervous system. I remembered purchasing some basic watercolor supplies after the fires on a whim. I had not done any art since grade school, but it was always in the back of my mind to try painting at some point. With my work hours being reduced to 10% of normal and everything shutting down, I figured this was the time to paint.
I picked up my art supplies and just started painting. I consciously thought to myself, "I'm going to just paint and NOT judge myself." I was immediately hooked that first day. I watched YouTube videos and started painting. I painted every day for about 3 months straight. It became a source of meditation and mindfulness for me. A place I could quiet the monkey mind and just watch the movement of the paint on paper. I decided to paint quails because the quails in the yard would bring me joy during a dark period in my life. And since the pandemic "took away" all my activities, I started painting the quails doing what I wish I could be doing. My yoga class was gone, so I painted the yoga quail. Wine tasting was gone, so I painted a wine tasting quail. I missed getting a massage, so my quail got a massage. You get the picture.
Then I discovered a Facebook group of women physician artists and it became a fun sanctuary for me to share my paintings. I ended up doing an art trade with a fellow physician artist. This talented physician painted my dog Lucy, and I painted an Ob-Gyn quail to represent her specialty. This was my very first doctor quail. Next thing I knew, more and more doctors started commissioning me to paint quails in their specialties. Some were for their offices, some were for their homes, and some were gifts for other doctors. I did quail versions of pediatrics, family medicine (from egg to elder was the motto), ENT, psychiatry, child psychiatry, anesthesia, nephrology, ophthalmology, pathology, hematology, urology, general surgery, emergency medicine, robotic surgery, gastroenterology (colonoscopy quail is a personal favorite of mine), endocrinology, and plastic surgery (Yes...Quail got breast implants). I got unique commissions such as painting quail family portraits and a quail engagement picture. I inadvertently became a professional artist during that time and even got published in Physician Outlook magazine. However, the greatest gift for me about watercolor is that it has brought me joy and brought joy to others.
Since moving back to my rebuilt house, I have actually lost a lot of the drive to paint. Creativity comes in waves for me. But I have not forgotten what a gift watercolor has been to me. It has been a dream of mine to teach and share watercolor with others, so you can imagine my excitement when the Medical Arts Program of Sonoma invited me to do this workshop. I'm looking forward to gathering with everyone and just having fun with watercolor!
You can see more of my artwork on Instagram @DermDocDesigns or FB Derm Doc Designs
-Judith Hong M.D.
P.S. I'm usually not this verbose, but Dr. Mark Sloan's fantastic writing workshop has sparked something in me! Thank you Dr. Sloan