I well remember the first time I sat down with my new set of watercolour paints and brushes, with a fresh piece of quality paper glinting whitely at me, daring me to make a start.
I had a beginner's book, of course, and I had looked through and decided to have a go at a landscape picture.
After all, that is what watercolour is all about, isn't it? A mountain lake with the clouds reflecting in the water, or a sunset over the sea with perhaps a small boat at anchor to add atmosphere.
As I started to paint, I realized that this sort of picture is a harder to achieve than it looks.
That was OK, as I was not green enough to expect painting to be easy, even with decent materials.
What I hadn't expected t find was that I was deeply bored by the activity.
Really, bored to my very core.
I couldn't care less about the subject I was laboriously painting, and it showed.
Landscapes were not, and are not, for me.
Please don't think I am dismissing landscapes, as I have seen many fine versions produced by artists who have a feel for the subject, and which I absolutely love.
My point is just that - good paintings are made by artists who love their work, and you can't expect to do a great job with something that doesn't move or interest you.
There was a short hiatus in my painting career as I put away my paints and tried to work out where I was going wrong.
It didn't take me long to decide that I needed to forget the beginner paint book and what I thought I was expected to paint, and just paint things I wanted to.
I started again, with geometrical abstracts and then moved on to abstract versions of trees and flowers.
I liked the results, enjoyed the process of mixing colours and sketching out the shapes.
Quite soon I moved on further and began painting stylised and abstract animals.
Each one could have a little personality in it, and each one made me smile.
I would happily hang them all in my own home.
Take inspiration where you find it.
Note the colours you see around you that you would love to reproduce, the shapes in nature, and around you in the urban environment.
Don't worry that no one else is painting the subject you want to try.
That's a good thing! Follow your own ideas, and while listening to and learning from others, develop your own techniques and you will find your own work to work that fulfills you.
Currently I am finding writing and photography are inspiring me the most, and it is a little while since I had my paints out.
However, everything I do in other fields also fuels my desire to paint and provides more ideas to explore through my watercolours.
Inspiration is where you find it!