Watercolors: How To Start Working With Them

Watercolors are a difficult medium to work with. However, they can also be the most rewarding for any beginning artist. This is because the different techniques that you learn as you develop your skills will help you even more when you start working with oils and acrylics. Watercolors are a temperamental medium and learning how to work with the paint and letting it flow properly from your brush to canvas is a great asset for your future development as an artist. How does one start their journey in watercolors?

First of all, you need to get the right materials. Get a good selection of paints Ð high-quality paints usually produce high-quality work because they work well on the paper and the brush. Get a good start set of colors - most sets follow the standard collection of red, blue, white, black, yellow, purple, ochre, umber, and sienna. These starter colors give you a wide range to work with in your starting lessons in the art. The next thing you need to pick up is a set of three brushes: a medium size round brush, a small size round brush, and a flat brush.

These will be your basic brushes for painting, Finally, you need to choose the right paper to work with. It is better work with watercolor paper when painting using watercolors Ð this is because watercolor paper is thicker and more durable when used with this particular medium. Ordinary paper would warp from the contact of water and would have the paint spread in an unpredictable manner. Proper watercolor paper stands up to the punishment and the paint works with it properly.

After choosing the materials, you'll need to know a few basic techniques in watercoloring. The most basic technique is washing. This describes the process of layering paint on the canvas while creating the illusion of depth and detail. The basic wash goes like this:

• Set your initial boundaries a small rectangle or square would help set your parameters.

• Use your flat brush and dip it well in paint. Draw a stroke from left to right. Stop at the boundary you set.

• Dip your brush again and repeat the stroke this time underneath the first store, overlapping it.

• Repeat again and continue until you reach your bottom boundary.

Congratulations! You've done your first flat wash!

Washing is where it all begins. Most techniques using watercolors are based on washing. Your initial wash was on a flat horizontal surface. Can you imagine doing it on an easel, with the canvas vertical? The effect would have been different because the water would have been flowing down. Flat washes are easy Ð another type of wash is the graded wash. This means that the color slowly fades as the wash progresses. Here's how to do it:

• Set your initial boundaries once again a small rectangle or square would help set your parameters.

• Use your flat brush and dip it well in paint. Draw a stroke from left to right. Stop at the boundary you set.

• Now, dab your brush a little and use a lighter mixture by using more water or a different paint.

• Make your next stroke beneath your first one, making sure to overlap it. You'll notice the difference immediately.

• Repeat again and continue until you reach your bottom boundary, while progressively using a lighter mixture.

There you have it! A graded wash is often used to display changes in color tone.

These two watercolor techniques are just the beginning. There is a whole constellation of painting techniques that can only help you as you progress as a watercolorist.