Water color instruction?
Lee Evans
As a self-taught watercolorist let me say that there is more than one way to
"learn" to utilize waterbased paints -- or actually any form of painting, in my
opinion. It depends largely on how much you want to learn, and how dedicated
you are to becoming a serious student. It takes time and commitment, but then
learning to do anything well takes the same.
First I would suggest you order some books on watercolor techniques for
yourself, or check them out of a library, if possible. Read these through for
the concept behind using watercolor paints, then take your time and experiment
with the techniques advised if they seem appealing to you. Bear in mind there
is no need to utilize all of the techniques demonstrated in such books. What
techniques you use should be up to you and what you want to get out of your
painting on an individual basis. For instance I abhor the use of gum arabic
and refuse to use it. Also, I refuse to use slide projection and transferrence
as many watercolorist do. To me that is what being an artist is all about
--learning to draw and paint.
The most important thing of course is to get good quality paper. Experimenting
with water based paints will achieve nothing if you utilize poor quality paper.
The lowest grade would be (for a learner, 120lb.). In choosing the brushes,
this is also crucial to the success of your painting. Sable is the best.
Brushes are expensive, however, so you may wish to look for things on sale or
wait until you feel somewhat more comfortable with using watercolors to rush
out and invest a lot of money in brushes. If you decide you enjoy watercolor,
then by all means the quality of your painting is going to only improve with
good brushes.
Next the paint: If you wish to attain the transparency of traditional
watercolors, using pan paints is probably the easiest. If you wish, however to
utilize, varying elements in your paintings, i.e. transparent & opaque, or
colors that are vibrant rather than muted, utilizing tube paints is the best.
After you play around a little in the media you will undoubtedly find a
preference for which style of painting you wish to pursue.
The rest is simply finding out what works best for you. Many people (and many
painters) have expressed to me a lack of confidence when approaching the
subject of utilizing watercolors for painting. It is like everything else:
you learn to control the medium in which you are working -- in this case, the
water in relation to the paint. The rest is perfecting your own techniques in
accordance to the styles you wish to paint.
Watercolors should not be considered "scary." They are a wonderful media to
work in: fluid, expressive and flexible. Enjoy experimenting and good luck!!
Lee Evans
Contemporary Watercolorist