Painting with Watercolor

Watercolor was originally used by the Chinese on silk and by the Egyptians on papyrus, and its purpose was to add detail to line drawings. For a long time, lines were the predominant part of the watercolor art form. However, then Winslow Homer came along and watercolor became a full medium to use for art.

Watercolor is meant to be painted on the spot, and it is best to take some time for outdoor study before attempting to paint watercolor inside. While knowing how to work with oil paint as well as having some experience with drawing helps, the best way to improve using watercolor is to practice.

Working With Watercolor

When painting watercolor, you want a nice white paper that will show the transparency of the watercolors. You can buy watercolor paper at any craft store, as well as a beginning watercolor set that will include brushes, paints, and a water dish.

If you are just beginning to use watercolor, you will want to use large brushes to prevent a "timid approach." Once you gain some experience and become more comfortable, then you can use different sized brushes.

Before you begin painting, you may want to lightly sketch basic shapes of your painting. However, you do not need to do this, and instead you can paint your subject directly on the paper if you wish.

Watercolor Techniques

Here are some basic watercolor techniques:

Hold the watercolor brush in a way that you can produce strong strokes, but also practice holding the brush in different ways to produce different types of strokes.

Practice your strokes on a separate piece of paper before applying it to the actual watercolor paper you will use for your artwork.

Try out different washes. Some washes include a flat even wash, a light to dark wash, and a graded wash. You may want to tilt the board at a 15-degree angle for a graded wash, but make sure it is not too tilted or else the wash will dry unevenly.

Watch for how colors react when they are mixed with water, and keep in mind some colors spread more evenly than other colors.

Blend colors together while they are wet to create new colors. However, do not mix too many colors or else it will become a muddy color. You can also paint a new color over a dried color for a different effect.

References

http://www.learn-to-draw-and-paint.com/watercolor-painting.html

http://www.learn-to-draw-and-paint.com/watercolor-techniques.html