Watercolor Materials - Good, Bad and Best!
Everything you need to know about watercolor materials and where to get them
JUST ADD WATER FOR LUMINOUS COLOR
Watercolor is the perfect painting medium, inexpensive, non-toxic, and always ready to fit into busy schedules. Whether you want to work loose and free or produce a tight, photo-realistic painting, watercolor is a great choice.
This lesson covers the basic materials that I'll be demonstrating. You'll want to return again and again for lots of practical tips and information that make watercolor easy, fun and successful.
Please leave a comment on anything you have questions about or mention subjects you would like to see lessons on. I'm updating the site this summer and adding more lessons as time allows.
3 Newest Products To Make Watercolor Painting Easier
1. Masking Pen - Not just for kids! Pebeo (my favorite mask) is now available in easy to use pens. (Use a masking pickup to remove - it goes on very thinly.)
2. White Ink Pen - I use this for tiny white lines, like the whiskers on kittens, or to sign my work in dark areas.
3. Transparent Pyrrol Orange by Daniel Smith - very transparent and user friendly color - mixes well and adds life to almost any area.
This sunset was painted by a student using lemon yellow, transparent pyrrol orange and dioxazine purple. The white lines were added with a white pen.
Your Instructor
I'm a self taught artist and I love teaching!
My story is simple.
I showed a lot of interest and talent as a child, but my parents discouraged art as a waste of time. I spent my adult life as a nurse and raised a family - pretty busy. While I was home with the birth of my daughter, I bought a cheap set of watercolors and fell in love with the bloom of color. I told my husband, 'I'm going to keep painting with these until I get really good.' 'Sure you are,' he told me, not really believing,
but always supportive.
I wanted to paint realism with watercolors, but met a lot of resistance. Teachers said, 'That's not how you use watercolors, you're never going to get anywhere, etc. etc.'
I persevered (being very stubborn) until I developed my own unique style. When I entered my first art show, I won two awards and was told I'd have to enter the professional category and not beginner. That frightened me soo much, I didn't enter again for years.
However, when my work began selling, I entered more shows with more great success. I worked very hard and became a full time professional artist and teacher.
Although my work has been recognized and featured in major exhibitions, books and magazines, I'm very down to earth, and just love painting.
Since surviving a bout with cancer, I've gotten a lot more serious about my art and teaching. For the art, I'm following my dream to paint western art, taking fun trips to photograph and shipping my paintings to shows around the nation - check out my website: www.debwatsonart.com.
For the teaching, I have this website.
No one has 'all the time in the world'. Paint now. You're never too old, it's never too late. Any bit of time you can practice will improve your skills.
And yes, this cowboy is a watercolor painting. (Reference photo used with permission by Diana Robinson) Have fun and learn from a master - sign up today!