It is believe that watercolor painting is the oldest form of painting dating back to cave paintings. Watercolor, also known in French as aquarelle, is painting with water-soluble pigments on paper.
For me, watercolor is an adventure of discovering. I'll be happy to share with you at least 7 art skills you can learn from painting with watercolors.
1. Better concentration
Watercolor painting mistakes are tricky to fix and sometimes the best decision is just starting a new painting. Therefore, working with watercolors is all a bit of challenge but helps to achieve total concentration.
2. Easy simplifying complex shapes
Blocking in the main colors and shapes on your paper is very useful procedure to lay down the general composition and color harmony. Some objects are so complex that it would take hours to draw every single of them. Instead, block in only the important elements that will save time and then you can make some important detail. Try not to fuss too much over details!
3. Sketching saves time
Sketching is a raw tool that can be practiced, mastered, and utilized as a means of exploration. Doing a sketch with pencil is extremely useful when it comes to painting with watercolors, because it sets the foundation so you can see where your final lines are going to be placed but also to try out variety of compositions.
4. The right timing
So how do you know when an artwork is finished? When you paint with acrylic or oil you can`t resist the urge to correct things and for that reason it can become hard to stop overthinking the process. Sometimes it takes only one wrong brushstroke for a watercolor painting to go from fresh to tired. That necessity helps you to learn when it’s just the right time to stop and put the brush down.
5. Gradation skill
Because of its transparent qualities, watercolor is perfect for capturing the subtle nuances of tone and color associated with the subject. Making nuances in your artwork creates depth and vibrancy.
6. It`s Ok to start over
Fear to let go is understandable especially when you put amount of time and effort to paint something. Embrace bloopers and try again – this is the best lesson that you can learn from using watercolors. That gives you freedom to experiment, freedom to fail and the ultimate freedom to learn from your mistakes.
7. Poetic mood
“How fortunate
our color blends unintentially,
wildly with thoughts bleeding outside the lines
what we started: again”, a poem by Shaine Fraz
Is there a better way to paint a poem instead of watercolors?! This technique has the whole range of tools to evoke a broad range of emotions. No doubt, you will be fascinated by the graceful nature of watercolors only just seeing artworks of J.M.W. Turner and Trevor Chamberlain.
Bye for now!