Watercolor Painting

Watercolor painting is the choice of many beginning and professional artists. Watercolor painting is a simpler and cleaner process than oil painting as it requires no solvents or mixing agents other than water. While transparency is a major attribute of watercolor painting, opacity can be achieved through specific techniques.

Supplies for watercolor painting includes a range of watercolor paints (for best results, buy good paints) and hair brushes of various sizes, including flat tips and rounded tips. There are a number of grades of watercolor papers from fairly thin to quite heavy, textured papers. As the heavy, textured papers for watercolor painting are more expensive, many students of watercolor painting use lighter papers to begin.

If you are not attending a class in watercolor painting, there are numerous books which can teach techniques to beginners. As with any medium, when approaching watercolor painting, try working with simple forms to practice brush strokes and control of the paint. As you proceed with your work, more complex subjects can be used for your watercolor painting.

Flowers are often a good beginning form for watercolor paintings. Sometimes it is good to begin with a single flower to practice the subtleties of color and form in flower watercolor painting. Other forms of still life are good for the beginner...for example use a bowl of fruit to create a simple but attractive watercolor painting. Practice developing light and dark shading and remember to indicate light and shadow in each watercolor painting.

As you advance with your work in watercolor painting, try a simple landscape. Some like working in the outdoors, painting directly from nature. Others use photographs to copy from for effective watercolor painting of landscapes. If one chooses to do watercolor paintings of city scenes, sometimes the use of pen and ink to deliniate and to accent parts of the painting.

Doing portraits with watercolor is somewhat difficult, but can be achieved with practice. A pencil sketch preliminary to doing the watercolor painting is a good idea, to develop a sense of the planes of the face and the light and shadow you must indicate in the finished watercolor painting. Less is more in many cases...avoiding sharp outlines or distinct strong color in portraiture watercolor painting.

Whatever area you choose, watercolor painting is fun and challenging, and many great artists have achieved reknown in the field of watercolor painting.

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