My name is Lena and I make watercolors for this shop. This is a one-woman business 👩‍🎨

I like the combination of art, science, and research behind making paints. I enjoy reading and discovering facts about historic palettes, learning about artists and their creative practices, and, of course, drawing and painting with all of my colors!

I opened my shop in 2018 when I started making paints for myself. I've used all major brands but still could not find the variety and the quality that I needed for my art experiments. I am never going back to big brands knowing how to make my own perfect paints.

I am a visual person and I enjoy drawing and mixing colors, as well as looking at art and learning to appreciate it in different forms. I’ve always liked drawing and painting as a way of exploring shapes and colors and my big dream as a child was to be able to paint realistic portraits (I pictured myself standing next to a professional easel, painting a live model).

I attended art school for two years in my late teens where I learned fundamentals of color theory, drawing, painting, and composition. I pursued higher education in another field but continued to paint and draw in my free time. I took several college courses in figure drawing, painting, and design, parallel to my main studies. I regularly attend workshops and figure drawing sessions and try to take formal figure drawing courses every year to continue building my skills. I do not own a professional easel, but I am pretty much living my childhood dream in my free time, drawing and painting from life :-) My professional background is in academic publishing and layout design.

Watercolor has always been my favorite medium. I took drawing classes where I had to use charcoal, graphite pencils, and pastel, as well as figure drawing courses where I had to use oil paints. I tried many mediums but always returned to watercolors. In recent years, watercolor painting became central to my art exploration, a necessity to experience the painting process, to learn, and to take time to observe nature and people.

In my free time, I like studying art history and research famous artists’ palettes. I recreated some of them in the watercolor form (Rembrandt, Homer, Sargent, Durer, Goya) and will continue to expand my collection. I like reading artists’ biographies and learn how they organized their painting practice and compiled their palettes. The number of colors and their value do not determine the talent and quality of artworks (Durer could barely afford ultramarine blue!) but I am fascinated with the way artists chose their colors and built their palettes and how those palettes evolved.

In my painting practice, I like using all the available colors and want to continue making new colors so I can try them and offer them in my shop. I try to make and release a few new colors every month. There are many core colors that I make again and again and a few rare colors that only available temporarily. I discover new pigments while reading about artists and the history of pigment sourcing and production. I look at colors and pigments through history - I learn about pigment origin and use through the ages. I like the idea shared by M. Wood in his book about Winslow Homer: “We must use history to comprehend art and art to fathom history.” For me, it became a single experience of interacting with pigments, reading about artists, recreating historic palettes, looking at famous artworks, and making my art. This creative and reflective mindset keeps me inspired.

I am a big proponent of single pigment colors. I do not mix pigments to make new colors, each color in my shop is a stand-alone pigment. I believe that using pure single pigments helps mix clean and fresh colors and create vibrant artworks, which is one of the strengths of watercolor as a medium and one of the main goals of watercolor artists. Mud is always an option but it’s good to start with pure fresh colors :-)

I use original pigment names as color names, I do not invent marketing names. The professional artist community uses original pigment names and it’s easier to find colors and learn about pigments when using their real names (original names are also used in all academic environments). It also saves time and does not require the memorization of various catchy nicknames.

I try to keep my shop prices reasonable. I am able to keep the prices relatively low because I don't have employees, I do not use machinery, and I don't pay studio rent. PoemsAboutYou will always be a one-woman business, I have no plans to expand.

I make professional-grade watercolors that can be used for serious study of pigments, color theory, and painting practice that incorporates learning about colors, their character, and interactions. My colors can accompany a long-term commitment to painting and gradual mastery of watercolor medium. I am available to answer questions about my colors and assist in putting together personalized palettes for various purposes. Feel free to message if you have any questions!

Happy painting! :-)

Shop page on Instagram: @poemsaboutyoushop
My art on Instagram: @poemsaboutme
My drawings on Instagram: @drawingsaboutme
Hashtag for watercolor art: #PoemsAboutYouWatercolors