In this members discussion, we chat about the growing excitement around Bohan watercolor paper, how it compares to other surfaces, and what students are experiencing while painting on it.

We also dive into the creative journey behind my newest books and workbooks, including the thoughtful feedback students have shared along the way.

As I move into Season Four of the podcast, this conversation reflects the next step in my own creative journey—expanding beyond painting alone into creativity, observation, confidence, and the deeper artistic process. From watercolor techniques to creative flow, this is an honest behind-the-scenes look at where the work is evolving and what’s coming next.

Find Your Creative Flow: A Guided Creative Journal to Overcome Overwhelm and Find Your Flow Paperback on Amazon

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Season of an Artist – Part 4: Moving Forward

In this episode of the World of Watercolor podcast, Birgit O’Connor shares an honest conversation about moving forward creatively, reconnecting with your artistic voice, and learning how to see beyond detail.

We explore:
• Why artists lose momentum—and how to begin again
• How watercolor teaches us to simplify and let go
• Building confidence without overworking your paintings
• Understanding artistic flow and visual movement in a composition
• Letting go of perfection and trusting the creative process
• Finding inspiration after creative burnout or self-doubt

Birgit also shares insights from her new book and guided journal, Find Your Creative Flow: A Guided Creative Journal to Overcome Overwhelm and Find Your Flow — created to help artists slow down, reflect, and reconnect with creativity through simple prompts, exercises, and artistic reflection.

Whether you’re a beginner watercolor painter, a creative returning after time away, or an experienced artist searching for renewed inspiration, this episode offers encouragement, practical insight, and a reminder that growth happens one painting at a time.

Topics include:
watercolor painting, artistic confidence, creative flow, watercolor techniques, learning to see values, composition and design, overcoming creative overwhelm, watercolor mindset, simplifying shapes, painting light, watercolor podcast, creativity for artists, watercolor instruction, Birgit O’Connor, artist motivation, painting with confidence, watercolor inspiration, creative journaling, and artistic growth.

🎨 Learn more about workshops, books, and courses by Birgit O’Connor.

How do you create flow in your painting—and why does it sometimes feel stuck or overworked?

In this episode, we explore how to create flow in watercolor by simplifying shapes, grouping values, and learning to see your subject differently. Instead of trying to paint every detail, you’ll discover how connecting shapes and recognizing patterns can bring more movement, clarity, and ease into your work.

We talk about:
• How to create flow in your painting
• Why paintings become overworked
• Seeing shapes instead of details
• Connecting the dots within your composition
• Letting go of control and trusting the process

We also touch on the Women in Watercolor community and their current competition, along with how to approach a prospectus in a simple, manageable way—so it feels less overwhelming and more like an opportunity to grow.

I also share my guided journal, Find Your Creative Flow—a quiet, supportive space designed to help you slow down, reflect, and reconnect with your creativity without pressure or perfection.

Whether you’re feeling stuck, overworking your paintings, or looking for a more natural way to paint, this episode is an invitation to step back, simplify, and let your painting breathe.

Today, I’m joined by performance artist Sha Sha Higby—a truly unique creative whose work blends watercolor, sculpture, costume design, and shadow performance into immersive, emotional storytelling.

We talk about her upcoming shadow puppet performance Shadow of the Fox, premiering at the San Francisco International Arts Festival, and dive into her fascinating creative process—one that values intuition, spontaneity, and transformation over rigid technique.

What makes this conversation especially powerful is how our approaches overlap. Whether through watercolor or performance, we both explore how to create depth, atmosphere, and a sense of journey—rather than simply rendering what we see.

Upcoming Performances

Shadow of the Fox
• May 3 & 10 at 2 PM
• San Francisco International Arts Festival (Monkey Brains, Mission District)
• 🎟 Discount Code: 20DISCSHADOW

https://sfarts.org/event/sha-sha-higby-presents-shadow-of-the-fox-world-premiere-3c5jWov5Vwxw4vZwrhYJwm

• July 26– Throckmorton Theater, Mill Valley

In This Episode

We explore:

• How Sha Sha blends watercolor, ink, costume, and movement into one expressive language
  • Creating from intuitive flow instead of structured planning
  • Why rawness and imperfection often hold more power than technical precision
  • The role of transformation in both painting and performance

Her Creative Process

Sha Sha’s work moves fluidly across mediums:

Painting & Textile Techniques
• Airbrush layering using screens for soft gradations
• Traditional sumi ink influences
• Eco-dyeing silk with eucalyptus leaves and natural materials

Animation & Digital Work
• Layered drawing for organic animation
• Digital design combined with physical cutting (Cricut)

Shadow Puppetry
• Working with negative space as its own subject
• Hand-built puppets with wire armatures and light projection
• Reimagining traditional shadow theater with contemporary materials

Influences & Background

• Performed internationally, including multiple shows in Japan
  • Work featured in museums in Vietnam, Oakland, and Bolinas
  • Studied Japanese Noh theater and Indonesian shadow puppetry
  • Early training in sewing, handcraft, and detailed handmade work

Her performance style is slow, meditative, and deeply transformative—drawing inspiration from Noh and Butoh theater to create emotional, dreamlike experiences.

What We Talk About (Deeper Themes)

This conversation goes beyond technique and into the heart of creativity:

• Creating depth instead of surface
  • Letting go of realism to allow transformation
  • The power of negative space—both in art and in life
  • Bringing the unseen, intuitive, and emotional into form

Sha Sha beautifully describes her work as a way of making the invisible visible—something I think many artists can deeply relate to.

A Note on Process

One of my favorite takeaways:

Creativity doesn’t have to be controlled or perfectly planned.
Sometimes the most meaningful work comes from allowing things to unfold—layer by layer, moment by moment.

Sha Sha’s Website

http://www.shashahigby.com/New_Site_SourceFiles/index.html

Sha Sha on Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/shashahigby/

If You Enjoyed This Episode

Subscribe for more conversations on creativity, watercolor, and the artistic process.

To view the visual, go to https://www.youtube.com/live/7C8o0pbjTuo?si=kP03_rOrkwEBJxZC

In Part 3 of The Creative Seasons of an Artist, we explore the season many artists quietly fear — the plateau.

This is the stage where growth slows.
Ideas feel distant.
Momentum fades.
You sit down to paint and nothing feels new.

The plateau can feel discouraging. You may wonder if you’ve lost inspiration, reached your limit, or stalled in your progress.

But what if the plateau isn’t stagnation?

What if it’s consolidation?

In this episode, we talk about:

• Why growth often becomes invisible before it becomes permanent
• The frustrating gap between seeing better and painting better
• Why many artists quit during this season
• How repetition and refinement quietly build mastery
• What to do when you feel creatively stuck

The plateau is not a failure.

It’s a quiet strengthening.

It’s where endurance forms, where perception sharpens, and where artistry deepens beyond excitement.

If you’re feeling stuck, uncertain, or uninspired — this episode is for you.

Stay.

The season will shift.

In Part 2 of The Creative Seasons of an Artist, we step into the Growth Season — the stage where things begin to click.

This is the season of momentum.

Your washes start behaving the way you hoped they would.
Composition begins to make more sense.
You see improvement — and you feel it.

But growth isn’t just about getting better.

It’s about developing rhythm.

In this episode, we talk about:

• What creative momentum really feels like
• Why mistakes increase as you grow — and why that’s a good sign
• The shift from “Can I paint?” to “What kind of painter am I becoming?”
• Avoiding creative overload and too many influences
• Recognizing your instincts and artistic preferences
• Building strength through repetition

The Growth Season is exciting, messy, and expansive.

It’s the time when you experiment more boldly, notice color and form everywhere, and begin trusting your eye.

This isn’t the season for shrinking.

It’s the season for building muscle — creatively and mentally.

If you’re feeling energized, curious, and slightly overwhelmed all at once, you may be exactly where you need to be.

Growth isn’t linear.
But it is powerful.

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What season are you in as an artist?

In this four-part podcast series from The World of Watercolor, we explore the creative stages every artist experiences — from beginner hesitation to long-term reinvention.

This season covers:

• The courage to begin painting
• Overcoming comparison and self-doubt
• Building momentum and artistic rhythm
• Working through creative plateaus
• Rediscovering joy and redefining success

Whether you are new to watercolor or have been painting for years, understanding your creative season can help you move forward with clarity and confidence.

Artistic growth is not a straight line.

It’s seasonal.

Join Birgit O’Connor as she reflects on the emotional and practical realities of developing as a watercolor artist — and why every stage matters. 

Online courses

Join the mailing list

In Part 4 of The Lonely Artist series, we ask the big questions.

Are all artists a little crazy?

Can you really be successful as an artist?
Can you support yourself doing this?
And perhaps most importantly — do you actually want to?

In this episode, we talk about:

• The myth of the “crazy artist”
• The emotional highs and lows of creative life
• Art as healing and mental health support
• The difference between loving to paint and choosing the life of an artist
• Financial sustainability and realistic expectations
• What success truly means in a creative career

Being an artist is not just about talent.

It’s about resilience.
It’s about clarity.
It’s about deciding what kind of life you want.

You don’t have to starve.
You don’t have to suffer.
And you don’t have to fit someone else’s definition of success.

This conversation closes the series by asking one honest question:

What does being an artist mean to you?

In Part 3 of The Lonely Artist series, we talk about something practical — but deeply emotional.

Do you even have a place to paint?

What if your “studio” is the corner of the laundry room?
What if your supplies are tucked away in a closet and hard to reach?
What if you feel isolated not just emotionally — but physically?

In this episode, we explore:

• Feeling stifled when you don’t have a dedicated art space
• Painting in shared or temporary environments
• The emotional weight of not having room for your creativity
• Creating a portable or flexible home studio
• Overcoming the belief that you “can’t really be an artist”
• Giving yourself permission to claim space — even if it’s small

Being an artist doesn’t require a perfect studio.

It requires intention.

Sometimes it begins at the kitchen table.
Sometimes in the laundry room.
Sometimes in a quiet corner no one else notices.

But the act of making space — physically and emotionally — is where identity begins.

If you’ve ever felt like you don’t quite have room to be an artist, this conversation is for you.

Online courses

In Part 2 of The Lonely Artist series, we move from isolation into connection.

We talk about what it really means to grow as an artist — not just technically, but emotionally and professionally. How do you find your tribe? What if workshops aren’t for you? How do you continue learning when you feel unsure or stuck?

We explore:

• How to grow as an artist at your own pace
• Finding and building creative community
• Imposter syndrome and how it quietly shapes our confidence
• Why workshops aren’t the only path forward
• Pursuing your creative journey in a way that feels sustainable
• Looking for meaningful creative support
• Women in watercolor and shared experience
• The realities of marketing yourself as an artist

If you’ve ever felt like you’re doing this alone, this conversation is for you.

You don’t have to stop painting just because you feel unsure. You don’t have to follow someone else’s path. And you don’t have to grow alone.

In today’s episode (Part 1), I sat down with several of my artist members for a heartfelt conversation about something many creatives quietly experience — the life of a lonely artist.

We spoke openly about imposter syndrome (because it keeps resurfacing), painting by yourself, and what it truly means to call yourself an artist — even if it’s “just” a hobby.

We explored:
• How to get started when you feel stuck
• What to do when life feels grey
• Why live workshops may not work for everyone
• Starting your own art group
• Finding a safe creative community
• How to rise up and paint when confidence is low

This conversation only scratches the surface. In future episodes, we’ll continue unpacking what it means to pursue art in a way that feels authentic, sustainable, and supportive.

If you’ve ever questioned whether you belong as a watercolor artist — this conversation is for you.

Online courses