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…
The course is too simple for a beginner who expects a painting course to show them how to paint landscapes, still-life pictures, portraits and technical subjects. It is far simpler because it was aimed at artists who wanted to learn how to paint before having to learn to draw.
Here are 2 reasons why you should return to basic watercolor painting techniques…
1. Before you paint the Mona Lisa it is a good idea to know how to paint
2. When your painting is going wrong it is good to return to first principles
It is true that there are unusually lucky people. When they pick up a box of paints and a brush they can easily paint their first watercolor landscape painting. They never seem to struggle with their art. Such fortunate people are a minority.
Alternatively, most of us aren’t blessed with such talents…
* Learning to paint watercolors is hard
* At times it can seem impossible to paint watercolor pictures
It isn’t hard to find every brush mark on your painting turns into an awful mess. As you find your watercolor washes flooding uncontrollably, it is easy to create a nightmare of badly blended color.
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…
* You should look at how color goes where water takes it
* Understanding that you will wreck a color wash if you haven’t left it to dry before adding the nest wash
* It is good to know how to paint a range of color intensity and tone from a single color before advancing to adding other colors to the mix
There is great sense in the old saying… “Don’t run before you can walk”
Watercolor painting can quickly convince you that you have no artistic talent. It can make you look like you have no painting skills. It is a shame to become disheartened when your watercolors go wrong.
Which alternative would you choose?
“Disappointment and frustration… or a deep understanding of how simple and easy watercolors work in your painting?”