Watercolor painting by
Germaine Spruill
Germaine Spruill's watercolor learning experience:
I’ve known since I was a very young child, I wished to become a graphic designer. In class I’d always doodle on my class test, even sometimes without realizing it. Occasionally, harsh lectures were thrown at me such topics as; I should spend more time solving more math equations than doodling. As many years past I stopped doodling on test, it was more convenient to carry around a sketch board instead. I would always be able to keep track of my work in one book. I would doodling on various occasions during high school and then to this day. Eventually, I realized the logic in caring a sketch book all of the time. This works best because I would never lose a peace of art that had some value to me. As time passed, I had an old collection of books that I completed lying around everywhere in my room. I kept them all for sentimental reasons. Drawing to this day has more than enough uses for me besides being a hobby as well as part of my career. A memorable example; when I was taking a ride on the public train one day, I was sketching as I usually did in my sketchbook. The next thing I knew, an attractive female gazed over my shoulder looking at one of the animals I previously was working on. It was a parrot that I drew with many colors and different values. Overall, the image was pretty intriguing. Once most people especially females looked at it, they could look away. In general, a lot of people like my little graffiti sketches in my book. I’m constantly trying something new so that I can benefit from it one way or another. That’s also the reason why I am constantly looking or new internships, to take on new tougher responsibilities from business today. So far it’s been only two internships I have that gave me the experience that I need to work on a firm. One thing I learned, was speed, working in a crowded restaurant is a similar experience as working on magazine advertisements or a fast paced company. And there was hierarchy; the sense of arrangement of what type information was on the design such as Macy’s sale flyers one would always receive in the mail. Daily, people read not only this add but hundreds of others, many never knowing about these principles, but only whatever they see first in the add. Learning this technique may one day help me become more professional, breaking me away from low standing competitors. Business tactics are greatly valued here. Me, and my experience gained from freelance designing gave me more opportunities to exercise business strategies. Usually, I am creating either logos or flyer designs. In the future I can see an image of myself designing for add agency. Who knows, maybe in 5 years it will come true. Learning watercolor will be a helping hand in this pursuit. For one, I am creating my own crime drama comic book on capitalism. I been planning out the story for sometime know and afraid to give away my secret for the idea. I plan on using some of the watercolor techniques in a combination with adobe Photoshop since the final project will be printed. Once I complete the project, I will take to city hall to get a Patton on it. I want to protect my work just in case if someone was to claim my idea as their own. I would not want that to happen. One day I will be able to remember the joy of the comic book on a store shelf. As well the memorable expressions on teenagers faces when they read it. I will also be designing large liquor adds on the freeways and movie posters in theatres. I will put it in my all even if it kills me for the effort of graphic design. I also had an idea; this idea would be gathering a team of young freelance designers such as me and then working together to eliminate high up competition. You can say it would be a dream team of graphic designers and traditional artist. Even artist using watercolor can work with me. I would be the brains behind the team. I would use the internet to gain more clients from other states as well global.
Eventually, a sister branch would be needed to spread our business world wide; of course I would create a small profit off them. But this is very far from now and I must continue to explore all types of medium as well as mixed. I will continue watercolor painting predominately landscapes using the valuable methods I’ve learned such as the graded wash and the dry brush technique. I am a very open-minded young person so I will bond other techniques with one of another. For one I plan to try out the (knife scratching) technique on a canvas with oil medium. It will be risky but that is a part of life to take chances to explore new things, which is the only way to suffice if you want to master something in the world of yesterday as well as today.
