Exploring watercolour

[Kim Heazlewood]

Hi there
I’m new to Creative spark and also to exploring watercolour I’ve always loved watercolour images and love the sort of whimsical feeling around them. To the watercolour lovers out there what would be your top 3 tips for starting out painting in watercolour.

 

[Bartc]

1) Don't believe the common myth that watercolor has to be the hardest medium. Not true.
2) Learn by practicing, not by trying to create a masterpiece.
3) Especially in wet on wet, embrace "mistakes" as opportunities to explore and create.

Some rules do apply, such as painting from light to dark. WC isn't an exclusive medium, in that you can mix it easily with the opaque gouache or with ink (as in line and wash painting), or use it concurrently with various water soluble products (such as Inktense, Neocolor, acrylic, watercolor pencils, Ceracolors).

Learn about the effects of water and paper on what you paint. All papers are far from alike, though you don't need the most expensive stuff. How much water you use, how you do or don't let it dry is another whole area to learn.

But most of all have fun! This can be a very rewarding medium. It's not kids' stuff, but real professional material. And it's so highly portable that you'll be intrigued with carrying it everywhere you go.

 

[Terri]

Hi Kim - welcome to Creative Spark!

I hope you post a little bit about yourself and your work in our Welcome Center so everyone can give you a warm welcome! We have a lot of watercolor artists here so you're in good company.

 

[Claude J Greengrass]

Most important is Watercolour Paper. The better the quality the easier it is to paint. Negative advice: don't buy too many brushes..

 

[txomsy]

I would say, don't worry and have fun. Everything comes if you just experiment and observe.

Other than that, I would say:
- good pigments: nothing is worse to lose interest than using low quality watercolors, you do not need a large number of colors, but want then of good quality. Cotman is a good choice, but there are -depending on your location- professional grade watercolors of exceptional quality at most affordable prices (like Sennelier Aqua Mini)
- good brush: you do not need many, two or three are enough, a thick, a middle and a thin one, and they do not need top natural hair, there are excellent synthetic brushes with "Kolinsky imitation" taklon bristles that are within anybody's reach, again it depends on your location which ones will have best price, mind the brand, nothing is more frustrating than a brush that loses bristles
- good paper: the motto goes 'life is too short to waste on bad paper', and it certainly makes a difference, but to start with, you can find affordable papers that work, just mind the brand -or look the reviews-, Canson, Bockingford are well known, but to paint small, cheap (4-5$) pocket Talens Art Creation 90lbs/140gsm sketchbooks have worked good enough for my quick sketches, I mean, it is not ideal, but you do not need to break the bank either to get started.


There are plenty of books, videos, tutorials and web pages with tricks. Any will do. What is important is that you learn the basic terminology (to be able to communicate) and that you play and enjoy. As long as you have fun, everything will be alright.

Oh! And welcome!

 

[Joy]

Welcome, Kim! The tips preceding my post tips are excellent, as I would expect from the members' skill and experience. I certainly made a lot of errors in my journey, and still try to approach all endeavors with a "beginner's mind".

By far the biggest mistake I made was using cheap paper. Even though it is more costly, I only use all cotton paper. It doesn't have to be Arches, but using cellulose paper and poor quality paper "just to learn" was an exercise in frustration. I could not understand why my dried washes lifted too easily, colors would not blend, and results were streaky. After blaming myself (and I do use too much water), when I took a workshop the instructor indicated it was the poor paper quality. Paints are next in importance. You don't have to buy artist quality, student grade is fine in some basic colors, but don't buy cheap, no name brands. Brushes are least important. Again, start with a few basics in synthetics to practice techniques.

Gently brush your paint over the paper, especially when glazing. If you are too vigorous, you will lift layers of paint or blend for a muddy look. I still have a tendency to over work areas.

Water control is paramount, but (for me) the hardest thing to teach and grasp. If your brush (with or without paint) is wetter than the paper, any water or pigment deposited will push what is on the paper around and you will get a bloom or drying line. Wait until a wash is thoroughly dry before glazing. The glaze a single layer, carefully, not going back and forth - one stroke per area to be covered.

 

[Bartc]

- good pigments: nothing is worse to lose interest than using low quality watercolors, you do not need a large number of colors, but want then of good quality. Cotman is a good choice, but there are -depending on your location- professional grade watercolors of exceptional quality at most affordable prices (like Sennelier Aqua Mini) I started with a small Cotman field box and that's still the heart of my watercolor adventures for over 30 years now. When the Cotman pigments run out I replace them with professional grade Winsor & Newton pigments.
- good brush: you do not need many, two or three are enough, a thick, a middle and a thin one, and they do not need top natural hair, there are excellent synthetic brushes with "Kolinsky imitation" taklon bristles that are within anybody's reach, again it depends on your location which ones will have best price, mind the brand, nothing is more frustrating than a brush that loses bristles Despite having a quiver full of brushes, pens, waterbrushes, etc., I find that I almost always use only one single dagger stripper. Yes, I can use all kinds and sometimes use others, but honestly only one (and not expensive either) is enough if you learn your tool's capabilities. BTW, I originally learned on Sumi-e brushes, which are essentially pointed rounds and highly versatile. You can paint credibly with cheap hardware store paint brushes too, if you really want to.
- good paper: the motto goes 'life is too short to waste on bad paper', and it certainly makes a difference, but to start with, you can find affordable papers that work, just mind the brand -or look the reviews-, Canson, Bockingford are well known, but to paint small, cheap (4-5$) pocket Talens Art Creation 90lbs/140gsm sketchbooks have worked good enough for my quick sketches, I mean, it is not ideal, but you do not need to break the bank either to get started. Having tried many papers I'm in agreement. I'm not a heavy water user nor a scrubber, so more papers work for me than not. But I love Bockingford papers, Arches on the expensive side, yet some Strathmore or Canson postcard or larger sized pads work fine for most of my work.

 

[txomsy]

But I love Bockingford papers, Arches on the expensive side, yet some Strathmore or Canson postcard or larger sized pads work fine for most of my work.

Those are all excellent choices. I do also like Hahnemüle. I get the postcard size, which a tin can of 203gsm/105lbs cold pressed 30 postcards costs me usually about 10€. I agree it may be not for everyone. I.e. you do need to try papers, but you do not need to break the bank.

 

[Chaithram]

Hello. Kim.
As you paint with watercolor, enjoy the process as much as the product.
Do some research on the watercolor pigments, corelate their individual properties with different techniques.
The amount of water in the paint, the brush and the paper needs to be balanced. Practise a lot. Google Zbukvic watercolor clock .
I feel watercolor is transcendental.
All the best for your watercolor exploration.

 

[TK H-H]

I'm by no means an expert at watercolor. In fact, I admit it's one of my weaker mediums. But I'll share some tips I can give just from what I learned in my watercolor journey.

1. Decent supplies. You don't need the best out there, but I found trying to start with cheaper watercolors was really frustrating. When I revisited them down the road, I used Cotman (which I see was previously suggested) and they worked much better for me. I still use those when I occasionally use watercolor, but I've since added some Daniel Smiths to my collection. Same with the paper. Cheap watercolor paper is also frustrating. Good brushes will help too, but like others said, you don't need a lot of them. One or two good brushes to start will be sufficient. At least one with a good body that can hold a decent amount of paint. I like that Bartc mentioned sumi-e brushes. That's actually how I started as well. I still love them for watercolor. I might like them more than regular brushes to be honest. But that's just me.

2. Don't expect everything to be a masterpiece. Be open to experimenting and making mistakes. Watercolor has a bit of a mind of it's own and sometimes does unexpected things depending how much water you use, the pigments you're using, etc. Spend some time just playing with the pigments and the amounts of water you use.

3. I'm a little stumped on what third piece of advice I can give. I guess I'd say to take some time to watch other watercolorists work. There's plenty of great videos on Youtube available. I found I learned a lot from studying other artists as they worked. The first time I tried watercolor, I winged it and didn't really know what I was doing, and got discouraged. When I revisited it, I spent a lot of time watching artists on Youtube and took note of how they were mixing their paints, how they were layering their colors, how they were using the brush to imply textures, etc. It helped guide me and gave me lots of ideas for techniques to try out myself.