The creative process is mysterious and magical for me. When I am riding a wave of creativity, I am captivated, lost in time, able to tap into and express my deepest feelings and perceptions. At those times, I surprise myself. Because I am drawn to the spontaneity of the way the color mixes on the page and the accompanying element of surprise, watercolors are the perfect medium for me. Once I begin a painting, it seems to evolve almost on its own. I spend time in my painting studio nearly every day for the elevating effect of seeing a riot of color—Prussian blue, sap green, gamboge and alizarin crimson, to name but a few—as it streams across the paper and melds into beauty. 

As an artist, I have explored and become accomplished in numerous disciplines. For the past 20 years, I have worked in the Washington, DC, area as a widely published personal essayist and memoirist, and as a creative writing teacher and coach for both fiction and memoir writers. As a journalist, I have written on education and the arts, and have profiled dozens of world class musicians (www.PamelaToutant.com). I have also spent years as an amateur musician and received my undergraduate degree in art history.

 Watercolor painting was simply the next art form I wanted to explore. And I have found it to be a life-changing endeavor. Through my work as a watercolorist and writer, and through my creativity workshops, I hope to inspire others.

pamela.toutant@gmail.com
www.linkedin.com/in/pamelatoutant