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Good Basic Watercolor Painting Avoids Disappointment!
Recently, I was criticized for an incredibly simple 2 stage learn how to paint watercolors course. I hold my hand up high - the critic is absolutely right...
Recently, I was criticized for an incredibly simple 2 stage learn how to paint watercolors course. I hold my hand up high - the critic is absolutely right…
It was aimed at artist beginners who wanted to learn to paint without having to learn to draw first. This meant that although they may not be too good at drawing, they could still get started painting. Painting landscapes, still-life painting, portraits and mechanical objects can come later.
There are 2 reasons to go right back beyond the basics of painting watercolors…
1. It is a great idea to learn to paint before you try to paint a picture
2. When your painting is going wrong it is good to return to first principles
Some people are lucky. They never struggle to learn to paint watercolor. It is easy for some to pick up a paint box and brushes and paint a good watercolor landscape without difficulty. They are a fortunate minority.
Alternatively, most of us aren’t blessed with such talents…
* It isn’t so easy to learn how to paint watercolor well
* At times it can seem impossible to paint watercolor pictures
Each and every brush mark can be a nightmare of colors mixing badly and color washes flooding into areas of your painting that you don’t want.
All too soon you can turn your great art ideas into a muddy shambles. When you do you are lost. Unless you understand what is happening when watercolor paint flows across the paper, your painting will never get better…
* When you look you can see how color is carried by water on watercolor paper
* It is a good thing to know that you will wreck a color wash that isn’t fully dried by applying the next wash too soon
* It is a great idea to learn how to get a range of different color intensities and tone from a single color before adding another color to the mix
Like the old saying goes… “It is better to learn to walk before you run”
It is so easy to become disappointed with your watercolor painting. It is easier still for you to look like you have no artistic ideas and talents. Worst of all you can be made to look like you have no painting skills at all.
Which do you think is better?
“Frustration and disappointment from failure… or a fundamental knowledge of how simple and easy watercolor painting really works?”