Welcome to Painting

Getting Started in Watercolor Painting

If you are just starting out learning to paint either as a hobby or as a career, consider trying watercolors in your initial artistic endeavors. Although watercolor painting is perceived as being more difficult to use as acrylic paints, it can actually be a wonderful way for a budding artist to create beautiful masterpieces. Watercolors can be fairly inexpensive and are very forgiving (in fact they are much more forgiving than acrylic paints) so they are a good choice to learn with.

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.

Top Reasons to Use Watercolor Painting

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.

Watercolor Painting Techniques

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.

Watercolor painting is enjoyed by millions of people around the world. In fact, most school children are introduced to painting at an early age through the use of watercolors. So, take another look at watercolors and you may find that watercolor painting may be just the art form that you have been looking for. Unleash your artistic ability by creating a watercolor masterpiece today!

Learn How to Watercolor the Easy Way

Stop painting watercolors the hard way! Now you can create beautiful water color paintings easier and faster with this long-lost art book that has resurfaced with over 150 illustrations that teach water color drawing and painting secrets for any artist. Check it out at Watercolor Made Easy.

Artists at Lake Tahoe Gallery introduces silk art (North Lake Tahoe Bonanza)

Local art gallery, Artists At Lake Tahoe, welcomes the work of Louise Noel Howes, a silk artist from Gardnerville, Nev. Howes seeks to capture the big Nevada skies, the rainbow of the Sierra Nevada, and the huge palette of summer wildflowers in her silk paintings.

Indian Modernism via an Eclectic and Elusive Artist (New York Times)

?Rhythms of India: The Art of Nandalal Bose (1882-1966)" delivers a significant piece of news: that modernism wasn?t a purely Western product sent out to a hungry and waiting world.

Calendar (Lincolnwood Review)

Based upon space availability, The Review prints calendar announcements and items for columns, including campus news, newsmakers and others for local organizations and individuals. The deadline is 10 days before the desired publication date, however there is no guarantee for publication. Send releases and items of local interest to: Skokie Review or Lincolnwood Review, 130 S. Prospect Ave., ...

Showcase Events Calendar (Foster's Daily Democrat)

Portsmouth's Art 'Round Town galleries, openings on the first Friday of month, ellO Gallery, Nahcotta, Kennedy Studios, N.H. Art Association, Piscataqua Fine Art, and Three Graces Gallery.

Arts listings (The Sarasota Herald-Tribune)

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