“Wayne Brown introduced me to acrylic while I was taking his drawing course but I found I didn’t like it. It dries too quickly,” she notes. “Mick (Muriel) Mould (a fellow student in the class) did watercolour and I loved it. She helped me with the paper but I learned a lot from books, too.”

Convenience also influenced Gerda’s choice of medium. Watercolour is more portable than other types of paint and doesn’t require the use of solvents for clean-up, unlike oils. It’s a good option for someone with young children at home, as she had when she started painting.

“(Watercolour) doesn’t require a lot of expensive equipment, either” she notes. “Good quality watercolour paper and brushes are important but you only need three brushes -- a flat one and a couple of round ones in different sizes. Sable brushes are the best because they hold more water than synthetic brushes. And you only need seven to 10 different colours of paint, too.”

Gerda joined the Artists’ Guild and continued to paint. Even when the demands of her family limited the amount of time she was able to devote to art, she would read books or magazines on the subject. She also took art classes and workshops whenever possible and still does.

“Attitude is most important,” she stresses. “You can read a lot but you have to be willing to try painting for yourself, too. You have to be willing to try new things.” While reading a book on different media, Gerda found a paragraph describing an ink/gouache wash-out technique used by commercial artists and illustrators, who tend to try different media.