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Watercolor Paintings Practices

Watercolor painting is a fascinating and beautiful art form that artists have enjoyed for centuries. With its delicate washes, vibrant colors, and luminous effects, watercolor is a medium that can capture a wide range of subjects, from landscapes and still life to portraits and abstract compositions. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced artist, it offers endless possibilities for creative expression.

In this post, we’ll explore the basics of watercolor painting, including the supplies you need, the techniques you can use, and the tips and tricks to help you create stunning works of art.

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Supplies

When it comes to watercolor painting, choosing the right supplies is essential to achieving the desired effects.

Watercolor paints

  • Watercolor paints come in various forms, including tubes, pans, and liquid watercolors. Obviously, the type of paint you choose will depend on your personal preference and the effect you want to achieve. I particularly love the VanGogh and, Windsor and Newton watercolors. However, these are costly. Know that you don’t need expensive supplies to learn a skill. My first watercolor set was really simple and cheap, and it helped me experiment with the colors. I needed to learn the basics to improve anyway, so the supplies should not hold you back from learning and improving. Of course, new supplies always level up your art, and let’s be honest, it makes really happy, but you can use whatever you have to start making creative things.
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watercolor paintings brushes
watercolor paintings paper

Brushes

You’ll need a variety of sizes and shapes to create different types of strokes and textures.
Shape: The brush’s shape determines the stroke it can make. For example, a round brush is great for creating fine details and making controlled strokes, while a flat brush is better for creating broad strokes and washes.
Size: The size of the brush affects the amount of water and pigment it can hold. Evidently, larger brushes are better for covering large areas, while smaller brushes are better for fine details.
Quality: The quality of the brush can affect its performance and longevity. Obviously, high-quality brushes hold their shape better, have a consistent paint flow, and last longer than lower-quality brushes.
However, feel free to try all kinds of brushes, even things that are not brushes, like a sponge or textured papers/tissues.

Paper

Finally, the choice of the paper is crucial, and you’ll want to choose a high-quality watercolor paper that can withstand the wetness of the paint. There are paper specifically meant for watercolors, because it is a lot more absorbent. These papers are usually 300g or higher. I have tried a lot of them and I really like the Canson papers.

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Watercolor Paintings Practices

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Basic Techniques

There are three basic techniques in watercolor painting: wet on wet, wet on dry, and dry brush.

  • Wet on wet involves applying paint to wet paper, which allows the colors to blend and bleed together. It is used for painting blurry subjects or making soft blends.
  • Wet on dry involves applying paint to dry paper, which creates crisp edges and sharp lines
  • Dry brush involves using a brush that is only slightly damp to create a textured, grainy effect.
watercolor paintings trees

Each technique has its own unique properties and can be used to create a variety of effects in your paintings.

For example, for this night painting, I needed gradual color blends for the sky. So I first put water on all the paper, then added colors (black, white, and blue), allowing them to naturally blend together (wet-on-wet)
After leaving it to dry, I painted the little mountains and trees using a thin brush (wet-on-dry).

watercolor paintings practices sky

Usage Of Water

 

– Use the water according to the effect you want to give. If the paper is wet, the colors will move and can blend easily. So you can use water to set boundaries for your paper or to make a beautiful gradient. If the paper is dry, the colors will stay wherever you put your brush.

– Watercolors are translucent (you can see through them). The more you mix them with water, the more translucent they will look. On the contrary, if you do not use a lot of water, your paints will be more opaque.

– Be careful about how much you have water on your brush as much as on your paper. Otherwise, you won’t be able to make thin lines or paint precise details. The more you have water on your paper or on your brush, the less control you have over your paint. If there is too much water on your paper, your paint will not even bloom, and it will stay on top of the water.

– High-quality watercolors have a richer pigment, so you can really use more water in mixing them. Also, remember that watercolors typically dry a lot lighter than they first appear while wet and become activated again once dry if you paint over them with water.

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Watercolor Paintings Practices

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Tips And Tricks

– Plan your painting: Before you start painting, plan out your composition and color scheme. This will help you create a cohesive and visually appealing painting.

– Having a paper towel near can be really helpful. I use it to take back the water from my paper and brushes. They are almost like an eraser of watercolors. I use it a lot for cleaning my brush before using another color and also for correcting mistakes or redirecting the paint on the paper.

– You don’t need to hold your brush really tight. Actually, it is better to have a loose grip in order to have the best control over the brush. When I was first painting with watercolor, I was trying to control all the paint on my paper, but I quickly realized that what makes watercolor unique is its imperfection.

– Use masking fluid to preserve white areas of your painting (especially the details) that you want to keep unpainted.

Watercolor Paintings Practices
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– Paint from back to front, from light to dark. Watercolor is a thin medium, so practice with layers. It just gives more depth, and that is what makes your painting looks fantastic! And, of course, when layering, you should start with the lightest colors first. This way, you can keep building upon those layers until you get the results you want.

– Highlights and shadows complete your paintings!

– It’s ok that your painting doesn’t look really good sometimes. Some days, it just doesn’t work, and it’s alright. However, do not lose your motivation!

Watercolor Paintings Practices

watercolor paintings practices sky

In Conclusion,

Painting with watercolor is a wonderful thing! I use it for my architectural and landscape illustrations, and it always gives a magical look. It is an amazing hobby that calms your mind and makes you more relaxed. Once you learn the basics rules, it gets so much easier to paint anything you want! Remember that the best way to learn is to try yourself! There are still so many things I am learning, but here are my tips for using my watercolor painting practices for now!

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Watercolor Paintings Practices

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