Watercolor Painting Tips and Techniques

By Mark Traston

Watercolor can add a lot of life to your work of art. With some helpful tips you can master and perfect the art of watercolor painting. Transparency is the most promising and the most attractive characteristic of watercolor. The watercolor feels like a sparkle of light which the color of the paper shines through the paint. The watercolor seems to blend with the color of the paper and it creates an illusion of transparency.

Some tricks can best work and create the best illusion for your masterpiece. The watercolor trick that can make your painting lively. Lift paint is a trick that a watercolor paint can have. A wet tip can add light with your watercolor. While you are working with your artwork you have to keep in mind that you must work from light to dark. This will create an illusion that your artwork is coming to life.

The paper being used for your art work must have that high quality and excellent texture. A dramatic effect can be created in the final outcome of the painting. Water color paper must be chosen promptly to suite the type of scene you want to paint. You can choose from the following types of water color paper like rough pressed, hot pressed and cold pressed. You must also consider the size and weight of the watercolor paper. This involves the fibers of the paper that you will use. If these fibers are treated it will decrease the ability of the watercolor paper to absorb the water. Lighter paper must be stretched before using it otherwise it will wrinkle when the wet tip of the brush works with the paper.

When you are looking for the best type of watercolor paint that you will use you have to consider the capacity of the painter, whether he or she is still a student or a professional artist already. When you are already an artist who can work best with watercolor, you can use artist watercolor paints which have more vibrant colors to choose from. It is really a matter of taste. Though it is best that you use artist quality watercolor paint, but you can always mix and match the colors.
You can try experimenting with colors that you use to depict your work of art in the liveliest mood. You can purchase watercolor paints in forms of pans and tubes. To make the paint more workable and accessible you have to use water in order for the dry paint cake can be easily managed in paper. You have to make sure that you have rinsed the brush before trying other colors. This must be done when you are working with a watercolor paint in a pan. If you will not do this, you will get ugly and dirty looking shades of colors. You can try mixing and matching your primary colors to come up with your secondary colors. There are still pre-mixed watercolor paints available inn the market.

You can avail such, when you visit hobby stores and see if you have your most favorite color, Purchase only a few primary colors and learn how to mix your own colors rather than purchasing premixed colors. When you become more experienced, you can then start incorporating more colors into your palette.

Mark Traston is an associate with Portrait Painting. The company specializes in turning a photo to painting. Each portrait artist specializes in a specific area including wedding paintings, pet portraits, and executive portraits.
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The Beauty and Versatility of Watercolor Painting

If you are considering a dive into the wonderful world of painting as a hobby, consider trying watercolors in your initial artistic endeavors. Although watercolor painting has received a bit of a bad rap as far as level of difficulty and frustration, it can actually be a wonderful way for a budding artist to create beautiful masterpieces.

There are many advantages to selecting watercolor over other mediums, but one of the best is that watercolor tends to be a fairly forgiving type of paint to try. In fact, many beautiful images have been created in watercolor painting by making the most of a happy accident. Through blending and washing, you can find many striking effects for in watercolor.

Reasons to Consider Giving Watercolor Painting a try

Another big advantage to watercolor painting is that it is quick. A painting can be completed in an hour in some cases. For the hobbyist with limited time, watercolor painting can be found to be quite satisfying, since projects can be completed in a short time frame. It does not require many supplies, which keeps the cost down when you are just beginning your hobby.

This type of painting is also very portable, making it easy for travel. Watercolor dries quickly, and you don’t have to worry about smudging or smearing like you do with pastels or charcoal sketches. The strokes and washes required to create a final product are much simpler to learn than one might think, and allow a new artist plenty of freedom to experiment and add a personal touch to pieces.

Techniques of Watercolor Painting

There are many different techniques that you can incorporate into your watercolor paintings. One of the more basic techniques is called a flat wash, and is used to cover large areas of your painting. It is done by dampening your canvas, and spreading your paint from the top to the bottom using a large brush to move the color quickly and in broad strokes. Another good technique is called the wet in wet, and requires wetting your canvas with a spray bottle before applying your watercolor.

You can achieve the opposite effect with a dry brush technique that uses a dry surface and a pigment. This technique can actually add texture to your watercolor painting. For best results, it is a good idea to combine a number of techniques into each watercolor painting to add focal points and create maximum impact.

If you are thinking that watercolor painting might be a fun hobby for you to try, your next step should be into your local art or craft store to find supplies and perhaps get advice from a professional as to how to get started. There are classes, books and instructional videos that can teach you the basics of watercolor painting. Unleash your artistic ability by creating a watercolor masterpiece today!