5 things I learned about watercolours the past month.

Today I would like to share with you the things I learned about watercolours during the watercolour challenge that I participated in in the month of June. I have mainly been working in acrylics and oils for many years now, and watercolours have usually been something I only used for making sketches in my art journals. This year, however, I decided to start painting more with watercolours. I find watercolours to be a really tricky medium, probably because I am so used to approaching painting as an acrylic and oil painter. It feels a little like I have to reprogram my brain in how to paint. But as with any other skill, the only way of getting results is to practise a lot, and then practise a little more.
This was one of the reasons I thought of participating in a challenge like the #30x30 direct watercolour would help me get into a daily practice of painting with watercolours. What I love about watercolours is the direct satisfaction of being able to complete a painting in one day.

Anyway, I wrote down a list of things I learned about watercolours this past month, and that is what I want to share with you today.

1. Do not use too little or too much water.

When I first started painting with watercolours I used too little water, and my paintings looked dry and incomplete. No nice washes and I added more dry paint just as I would with oil colours. Then I realized my problem was lack of water to get the nice flow of paint that is the characteristics of watercolour paint. But I went overboard and used too much water. The tricky part is to use just the right amount of water. Too much water will result in your paint drying much duller and paler than what you want, and also pools of water can create unwanted pale areas. If this is an effect you want, then it is all good. But for me, it was frustrating to see my paintings become totally different as they dried. My problem: too much water. The only way of learning how to use just the right amount of water for the result that you would like to achieve is to practice.

2. Less is more.

In watercolours, often less is more. When you study watercolour masters who paint very tight and realistic work, I have found that they have not added as many details as very tight and realistic oil or acrylic painters. It is very easy to overwork watercolours, and that is why you have to think more carefully how you place your brushstrokes, and then let them be what they are. It doesn't matter if you paint in a tight or a loose style, less is still more! Try to avoid adding more and more details, and let the beauty of the watercolour be a thing of beauty in itself if that makes any sense.

3. Let go of control.

Sometimes the most beautiful results can be achieved not by planning every single stroke, but by letting the paint surprise you. Especially if you paint in a more loose style, trying not to control the flow of the water too much can result in something that you could never achieve when trying to control the medium too tightly. What I am trying to say is that watercolour as a medium can be unpredictable and that you can get really nice effects by learning to 'go with the flow' and work with the 'unpredictableness' it instead of against it. Don't be afraid of changing your plan halfway if that is where the paint 'leads' you.

4. Work with a limited palette.

The benefit of working with a small palette is that you get a much better understanding of how to mix colours and how colours work together. I have painted all my watercolours on paper in the challenge with my small 12 pan Schmincke palette, with only the additional Payne's grey and Burnet umber.

5. Don't give up.

This is maybe the most important lesson I learned. With acrylic and oil painting it is easy to rework and paint over mistakes or change things that you think are not working. With watercolour, this is not an option, because every brush stroke will remain visible. The only thing you can do is to start from the beginning with a new piece of paper and paint it again. And again, and again if necessary until you achieve what you set out to achieve. There we are again with the practise part... To quote Thomas A. Edison: 
"I have not failed.
I've just found 10.000
ways that won't work."

Well, that was that. I have continued to paint with watercolours this week, and here are my attempts.

Jonathan Seagull. This is a small 26x18 cm painting, watercolour on cotton paper. I think it would be nice to paint it bigger. I really need to go and see if I can find some bigger paper at the store. Last time I only found the hot pressed paper in big format, but I would like to have the cold pressed in big format!

This water lily is almost an exact copy of the one I painted in the challenge. This time I did do a drawing first. I still overworked the background a little, so I decided to give it another go.

Water lily nr 2. Here I really tried to not overwork and to remember the 'less is more' approach. I think it worked very well this time. The only thing I am contemplating now is to add a little more contrast to the petals in the flowers. But I don't want to make them too dark either. 

That was me for this week. Have a lovely weekend everyone!




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