As free as the wind?

As free as the wind? 6" x 8 1/2" watercolor

What is freedom? How do you paint freedom?
"Loose and Free" was today's challenge prompt for World Watercolor Month, and doubled my challenge into abstract.
Impressions, that's all and then some verses came to mind, and thoughts from readings and more.
The more we think we have, the less freedom we have...we are owned by what we think we own--obligated, indebted, tied down, fenced in. "Golden handcuffs," as one friend said.
Chained to protecting what we have.  In materialist America, we see this everywhere. Gated communities. Security systems. Buy more to be happy. The more we have, the more we fear losing it.  Gandhi knew this. Jesus knew this. The Eastern mystics knew this. Hunter gatherers and nomads knew this.
In the book Sapiens, A Brief History of Humankind, author Harari writes that the agricultural revolution was history's "biggest fraud." He uses wheat, once a wild grass, to prove his point. But when wheat was domesticated, homo sapiens "was doing little more from dawn to dusk than taking care of wheat plants,"  which demanded hard work. "the average farmer worked harder than the average forager, and got a worse diet in return." 
His conclusion: "These plants domesticated Homo sapiens, rather than vice versa." Is that freedom?
Deep  thoughts for a watercolor prompt. That's part of the challenge of painting, but I've found every painting has a story behind it, or in it. 
How? I thought of the lines from the song, "Born Free."
"Born free, as free as the wind blows
As free as the grass grows
Free to follow your heart."
And then I thought of the words of Jesus, in Matthew 6:26 after telling his disciples not to worry (not to be owned by, but to be free), about material things:
"Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow, or reap or store away in barns, and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them."
Thus today's abstract painting, wind and grass and birds, all in motion, a difficult task, impressions of freedom, of being loose, 140 lb. d'Arches cold press paper.
How free are we?

Fireworks, not tyrants, abstractly

Fireworks, not tyrants, 5" x 7" 

I detest photographs of fireworks in newspapers, magazines and in TV footage. They all look the same, boring--with one or two rare occasions when a photographer has an original eye. 
None capture the power and light and colors and spirit, and freedom,  of the firework shows. I've tried to paint them before...failures.
Day four of the Doodlewash Watercolor of the Month daily challenge prompt was "Family Fun."
How can I do this, and abstractly? Then I thought, fireworks. There is so much here--setting off fireworks when you were a kid, when you had kids, going to watch families watch fireworks shows. And much more, when you think about it.

Fireworks are a symbol of family and freedoms, not fear.

So here we go, with a few trade secrets, 140 lb. d'Arches cold press paper.
 Happy Fourth of July--Americans, hold on to your freedom, of expression, of speech, against all tyrants of rules and politics and tanks in the streets.

Summer symbol

Summer symbol, 5" x 7" 

Day three of the Doodlewash World Watercolor Month daily challenge provided today's prompt: Picnic Food.
I am also challenging myself to attempt abstract images, and was stumped when I thought about what first came to mind--how to paint a hot dog that way.
But my Okieness took over, having lived in a portion of the state where watermelons are a staple crop and cold treat at picnic tables in the hot, humid summertime.
Today's painting is a semi-abstract vision of the patterns and colors in that delicious food, 140 lb. d'Arches cold press paper.
By the way, here are the other prompts for this month. You see my challenges ahead.

Kodachrome, abstractly

"Kodachrome Day," 5 1/2" x 8 1/2"

Day two of the Doodlewash World Watercolor Month daily challenge has also become an abstract challenge. Today's subject prompt: "Sunny Sky."
Made me instantly think of one of my favorite Simon and Garfunkel songs, "Kodachrome," written by Simon.
As an old photographer, I loved Kodachrome, and even more as a photography professor, when they changed the lyrics in a concert to "everything looks better in black and white."
But their protest lyrics that prompted today's painting follow:
"They give us the nice bright colors
They give us the greens of summers
Make you think all the world's a sunny day, oh yeah."
So here is today's abstract landscape reaction, 300 lb. d'Arches cold press paper.

In the beginning-"Let there be light."

"Let there be light," today's watercolor, 6" x 8 1/2"

Day one of #WorldWatercolorMonth daily challenges. Today's prompt: Primary colors. 
Here it is--only yellow, red and blues, 300 lb. d'Arches cold press paper.
Hint: wet paper, pouring colors, yellow, then red then blues, with some spray.
"And the spirit of God flowed upon the face of the earth..."
Hint --No light, no color.
Dedicated to my friend John Lawton who painted terrific abstract, mystical paintings. May 15, 1931-June 29, 2019.
Observation--When the Great Mystery created light, he/she/it created color.