Watercolor

You now know what is watercolor,

Watercolor

and some of the basic techniques, what supplies you will need. Watercolor is a simple art, but difficult to master.

Laura Mesa

Watercolor Supplies

My Watercolor

WATERCOLOR PAPER

There are three different types of watercolor paper available: hot press, cold press and rough. Cold press paper has a lot of texture to it (whereas hot press paper is smooth). Watercolor paper is much thicker than ordinary paper which is very important to prevent buckling while painting. 140 lb is the typical weight of most watercolor paper. There are thicker options out there if you are planning to use heavy washes. Watercolor paper comes in single sheets, spiral pads and blocks. To prevent buckling while painting I recommend using artist’s masking tape to tape down your paper onto a hard surface while painting.

BRUSHES

There are three different types of watercolor brushes: rounds, flats and mops. All are made in a variety of sizes. The best brushes are made of natural fiber, most commonly sable.I use round brushes in a variety of sizes 90% of the time. If I’m doing a big wash, I’ll switch to a flat brush, but otherwise I use round brushes for all my painting.

PAINTS

There are two different types of watercolor: liquid tubes and solid pans. One is not better than the other, so it really comes down to your personal preference. You could use a pan set as your base color palette and then buy tubes whenever you want to try out new colors.

Watercolor? What is that?

Watercolor is one of the simplest forms of art around — you just need some paints, water, a brush and paper — but it is also one of the hardest to master. Here’s a look at some of the most important watercolor facts.

Video

Basic Watercolor Techniques

Layering

Blending

My favorite part of watercolor is the process of creating different layers. An example is the bunny you just saw. First use a pencil to lightly draw a bunny. Once your pencil drawing is finished, carefully cover the entire thing in water and then apply a ‘base’ layer. This will be the bottom layer that we will then build from. You could see that they kept adding layers to the painting. This process is called layering.

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First paint a shape or squiggle line with plain water only. Then dip your brush into the paint and add it to the watered area. Watch it spread, then clean your brush and choose a second color. Apply this to the opposite end of your watered area and watch the colors blend together. You can move your paper side to side to help the watercolor run together.

Marks

Try out all your different brushes. Experiment with different mark-making and see what you come up with. Draw circles, dashes, lines, and dots. Try mixing lots of water with your paint and then try the opposite by applying paint with a dry brush. Play with different textures, shades and colors

Image by Tom Mooring