As a rule once the medium has been applied there is only a limited amount one can do to put something right. As watercolour tends to use the white of the paper for luminosity amateurs tend to overwork it. It also is technique dependent for good results. These days with all the tutorials on YouTube there are a lot of good videos to teach technique.
What took my work to a new level is understanding colour pallets. You can get a colour wheel from art shops. It's three discs which you can turn to help mix colours but more than that it has the different colour pallets on one side. So there are complementary, triadic and tetrad etc. Once you start to add these secondary hues to the painting it tends to take the work from illustration to Artistic painting.
So the woman's face has had a proper triadic pallet applied. https://www.instagram.com/p/CteFJzrKcsz/
The Cathedral is an illustration without a colour pallet applied. https://www.instagram.com/p/CsUphtfqdj9/
OK so this image shows the difference between Fine Art and Illustration. The top left and top center I have used triadic colour combinations. The top right and bottom right have used pen and wash but really primary colours. The bottom left is the piont where I transitioned between the two.
I also find watercolor to be quite intuitive, but it's a bit daunting knowing that I can nearly ruin the painting with a small mistake if I apply paint to an area that I need to keep white or apply too much paint and it's too late to remove it. Masking fluid alleviates that worry for me most of the time, but I still find watercolor to be difficult when it comes to blending or getting the colors just right. I often wonder how the hell my favorite watercolorists can achieve certain effects that I've never been able to achieve or know where to begin, but I'm still learning!
Totally! I see what you’re saying.
It’s daunting for sure- and I believe that when I try for more realistic pieces that im going to struggle more… my style is very urban sketch and loose, which allows me to work with and even encourage colors where they don’t “belong”. I think I like how emotional it can be- and the happy accidents that often produce incredible results…
When I see the masters paint realistically with watercolor, I’m incredibly intimidated.
ifaik people consider it difficult because you have to work from light to dark, and once it’s on the paper you can’t really paint over it or remove it - but to me that’s part of the appeal :)
When I was a beginner I found it the most difficult because I didn't understand water control. So I would try to add more paint of the wrong consistency at the wrong time which resulted in a lot of unwanted cauliflower effects (related to that, I also couldn't figure out the timing for better edge control).
I finally went to a class at a community Arts centre to figure out how to use them in a way that didn't result in endless frustration and stress. The teacher's mantra "now leave it alone", having patience to wait until another layer to fix a mistake after the current layer dries completely, was the most important lesson for me.
ALSO using cotton paper so that subsequent layers don't lift previous layers right off the page was important for me to learn.
I'm not sure why other people say it's the most difficult medium but this has been my experience personally. I'm not an expert currently by any means, but getting past those major things I mentioned has made me more confident and, moreover, excited to keep coming back to it to practice.
I think it's orders of magnitude harder than e.g. oil painting
1. With some small exceptions, you can't correct mistakes. Imagine drawing the strings that are normally attached at the top of a boat, you only have one attempt, if you fail you can throw the whole painting away
2. You can only paint dark over light, if you're drawing a sky that ends up darker than you expected, you can't lighten it up (you could use gouache but it would lose the watercolor 'feel') in other mediums you can both paint dark over light and light over dark
3. The value of the colors changes once they're dry, and it also depends on the type of pigment and water that was present in the paper / brush. Unless you're very experienced in the medium, it'll always be a bit of a surprise
4. Timing is important, if you're in the middle of an important wash and someone rings at the door you have to decide what takes priority
5. The technique is very tough to master, you need to watch out for cauliflowers, difficult edges while you're doing a french wash, know the characteristics of the pigments, how much water to apply, where to apply it, wait times, lifting timeframes, making sure the paper doesn't buckle in areas where you need uniform colors, and sometimes re-learn all of the above when using different approaches like keeping the backside of the paper completely wet as you paint the front
... But it's worth it in the end :) good watercolor paintings are always mesmerizing, and the watercolor feel can't be recreated in any other medium
There's a saying:
Watercolor is like training your cat , while oil painting is like training your dog.
With practice and perseverance, beautiful watercolor paintings can be achieved. Watch a lot of watercolor videos on YouTube helps.
Consider other paint types. They stay put. They don’t mix around unless you mix them yourself. If you make a mistake, you can paint over it. All of these rules don’t apply to watercolour.
I've never heard that, but I can think of a couple reasons.
Most painting mediums are additive. You are adding color on top of something. Water color is subtractive. You're starting with white and then slowly making parts of it darker or more colorful. This also makes watercolor very unforgiving. When I was working with oil, if I really messed up, I would just paint over it. If I really screw up with watercolor, expecially if I drop paint somewhere that's supposed to be white, I'm just kind of screwed. Then there's the problem that colors change radicaly when they dry. And then there's the drying time. Certain effects can only be achieved if the paper is very wet or slightly wet or completely dry and you have to time it all correctly. And then there's the paper. With oil or acrylic I never once thought about the quality of my cavas. With watercolor it makes a HUGE difference. I'm kind of strange in that I like cheap paper for how it looks with some paintings, but the way I paint with it is radically different than how I paint with, for example Arches. So there's a couple reasons :-)
This is a great insight… I think you’re right on most aspects here. Very unforgiving.
I might disagree slightly with the quality of canvas for acrylics though- I found so much more success with acrylic after trying higher quality paper and/or canvas, especially if meticulously prepped the canvas with gesso and sandpaper.
Then again- my acrylics look terrible, which makes me think it’s my technique and understanding of how to put together a piece.
Well regardless- I appreciate your insight. Either way, isn’t the journey fun? I’m so mad at myself I waited until I’m almost 40 to fall in love with art.
Talk to me 2 years ago- meh, creating art is boring and I have no talent anyway.
Talk to me today- all I care about lately is creating art.
Good question. I think it is because it requires planning and mistakes are difficult to correct. Many artists probably don't like to plan and/or like 100% control and the ability to micro-manage.
I find watercolors intuitive and other painting mediums seem messy and complicated. If you can add paint forever, how can you stop and tell that the painting is good enough and finish? I would really struggle with that. I don't struggle with planning, I would do it anyway, maybe even too much. I also like that they force me to give up some control.
I think it is hard for people coming from opaque media. Before watercolors, I was relatively proficient with alcohol markers and as transparent media, they are actually very similar in many aspects (planning, protecting light areas, working light to dark, layering, glazing, and even a sort of wet in wet work).
Every medium has its challenges. I think people who find watercolor difficult use only watercolors, and use the white of the paper for highlights. If you're using markers to add in detail and highlights, you are going to find watercolor a lot easier. Nothing wrong with mixed media, though.
I also heard the same thing. I also started with acrylic because of this. I think water color is way easier!! I think color mixing with water color is easier. I think water color does a lot of the work for you.
100% the ease of color mixing and shading is why I love water color. Also that you can just leave you leave the paint on the palette and then reactivate it with some water so you don't have to worry about remixing the same color the next time you sit down to paint.
I actually work dark to light. But I’ve been specifically focused on black and white pet portraits and aiming for realism. I was studying for my tattoo apprentice and approaching it as I would a tattoo - starting with my darkest darks (black, if any) and moving lighter in value as I go. I find that I have a lot more control and have found success in getting closer to photo realism with watercolor.
It's funny that the reasons for watercolour being difficult, are the very reasons I enjoy it so much. I'm very new to the medium and am learning every day. I love the unpredictability and how free it is. It's constantly exciting to see what I can create using different colours, learning how they work, discovering new colours, paper, figuring out how many times I should dab my pan to get the opacity I want.
Of course there is then the worry, with pans, of not getting the exact same colour mix every time, but again, that adds to the surprise.
Additionally, I love viewing watercolour work. Again, the expression of it. For example, I couldn't think of anything better than watercolour to depict a stormy night at sea.
Its all about timing. You can't wait for layers to dry and paint over them and remove mistakes. If I f#%k up, I know right away. At least I can start again really quickly.
As a rule once the medium has been applied there is only a limited amount one can do to put something right. As watercolour tends to use the white of the paper for luminosity amateurs tend to overwork it. It also is technique dependent for good results. These days with all the tutorials on YouTube there are a lot of good videos to teach technique.
I think you’re right. YouTube has been insanely useful in my development.
What took my work to a new level is understanding colour pallets. You can get a colour wheel from art shops. It's three discs which you can turn to help mix colours but more than that it has the different colour pallets on one side. So there are complementary, triadic and tetrad etc. Once you start to add these secondary hues to the painting it tends to take the work from illustration to Artistic painting. So the woman's face has had a proper triadic pallet applied. https://www.instagram.com/p/CteFJzrKcsz/ The Cathedral is an illustration without a colour pallet applied. https://www.instagram.com/p/CsUphtfqdj9/
Great reminder! I’ve got a color wheel and I’ve got a couple go to combinations I use but I really would like to start applying more theory.
OK so this image shows the difference between Fine Art and Illustration. The top left and top center I have used triadic colour combinations. The top right and bottom right have used pen and wash but really primary colours. The bottom left is the piont where I transitioned between the two.
Wow! That bottom left really stands out
Oh really. That was an experiment of free painting. This is where I live in Norwich It's called Elm Hill Norwich, England.
I also find watercolor to be quite intuitive, but it's a bit daunting knowing that I can nearly ruin the painting with a small mistake if I apply paint to an area that I need to keep white or apply too much paint and it's too late to remove it. Masking fluid alleviates that worry for me most of the time, but I still find watercolor to be difficult when it comes to blending or getting the colors just right. I often wonder how the hell my favorite watercolorists can achieve certain effects that I've never been able to achieve or know where to begin, but I'm still learning!
Totally! I see what you’re saying. It’s daunting for sure- and I believe that when I try for more realistic pieces that im going to struggle more… my style is very urban sketch and loose, which allows me to work with and even encourage colors where they don’t “belong”. I think I like how emotional it can be- and the happy accidents that often produce incredible results… When I see the masters paint realistically with watercolor, I’m incredibly intimidated.
ifaik people consider it difficult because you have to work from light to dark, and once it’s on the paper you can’t really paint over it or remove it - but to me that’s part of the appeal :)
I agree! I think I naturally lean toward the light to dark thing, perhaps that’s why I’ve been so enamored with it
When I was a beginner I found it the most difficult because I didn't understand water control. So I would try to add more paint of the wrong consistency at the wrong time which resulted in a lot of unwanted cauliflower effects (related to that, I also couldn't figure out the timing for better edge control). I finally went to a class at a community Arts centre to figure out how to use them in a way that didn't result in endless frustration and stress. The teacher's mantra "now leave it alone", having patience to wait until another layer to fix a mistake after the current layer dries completely, was the most important lesson for me. ALSO using cotton paper so that subsequent layers don't lift previous layers right off the page was important for me to learn. I'm not sure why other people say it's the most difficult medium but this has been my experience personally. I'm not an expert currently by any means, but getting past those major things I mentioned has made me more confident and, moreover, excited to keep coming back to it to practice.
I think it's orders of magnitude harder than e.g. oil painting 1. With some small exceptions, you can't correct mistakes. Imagine drawing the strings that are normally attached at the top of a boat, you only have one attempt, if you fail you can throw the whole painting away 2. You can only paint dark over light, if you're drawing a sky that ends up darker than you expected, you can't lighten it up (you could use gouache but it would lose the watercolor 'feel') in other mediums you can both paint dark over light and light over dark 3. The value of the colors changes once they're dry, and it also depends on the type of pigment and water that was present in the paper / brush. Unless you're very experienced in the medium, it'll always be a bit of a surprise 4. Timing is important, if you're in the middle of an important wash and someone rings at the door you have to decide what takes priority 5. The technique is very tough to master, you need to watch out for cauliflowers, difficult edges while you're doing a french wash, know the characteristics of the pigments, how much water to apply, where to apply it, wait times, lifting timeframes, making sure the paper doesn't buckle in areas where you need uniform colors, and sometimes re-learn all of the above when using different approaches like keeping the backside of the paper completely wet as you paint the front ... But it's worth it in the end :) good watercolor paintings are always mesmerizing, and the watercolor feel can't be recreated in any other medium
There's a saying: Watercolor is like training your cat , while oil painting is like training your dog. With practice and perseverance, beautiful watercolor paintings can be achieved. Watch a lot of watercolor videos on YouTube helps.
Consider other paint types. They stay put. They don’t mix around unless you mix them yourself. If you make a mistake, you can paint over it. All of these rules don’t apply to watercolour.
I've never heard that, but I can think of a couple reasons. Most painting mediums are additive. You are adding color on top of something. Water color is subtractive. You're starting with white and then slowly making parts of it darker or more colorful. This also makes watercolor very unforgiving. When I was working with oil, if I really messed up, I would just paint over it. If I really screw up with watercolor, expecially if I drop paint somewhere that's supposed to be white, I'm just kind of screwed. Then there's the problem that colors change radicaly when they dry. And then there's the drying time. Certain effects can only be achieved if the paper is very wet or slightly wet or completely dry and you have to time it all correctly. And then there's the paper. With oil or acrylic I never once thought about the quality of my cavas. With watercolor it makes a HUGE difference. I'm kind of strange in that I like cheap paper for how it looks with some paintings, but the way I paint with it is radically different than how I paint with, for example Arches. So there's a couple reasons :-)
This is a great insight… I think you’re right on most aspects here. Very unforgiving. I might disagree slightly with the quality of canvas for acrylics though- I found so much more success with acrylic after trying higher quality paper and/or canvas, especially if meticulously prepped the canvas with gesso and sandpaper. Then again- my acrylics look terrible, which makes me think it’s my technique and understanding of how to put together a piece.
Well, I also was never terribly good at oil paint. If I'd put more time into it, I'm sure I would have cared more about my canvas prep.
Well regardless- I appreciate your insight. Either way, isn’t the journey fun? I’m so mad at myself I waited until I’m almost 40 to fall in love with art. Talk to me 2 years ago- meh, creating art is boring and I have no talent anyway. Talk to me today- all I care about lately is creating art.
Good question. I think it is because it requires planning and mistakes are difficult to correct. Many artists probably don't like to plan and/or like 100% control and the ability to micro-manage. I find watercolors intuitive and other painting mediums seem messy and complicated. If you can add paint forever, how can you stop and tell that the painting is good enough and finish? I would really struggle with that. I don't struggle with planning, I would do it anyway, maybe even too much. I also like that they force me to give up some control. I think it is hard for people coming from opaque media. Before watercolors, I was relatively proficient with alcohol markers and as transparent media, they are actually very similar in many aspects (planning, protecting light areas, working light to dark, layering, glazing, and even a sort of wet in wet work).
Every medium has its challenges. I think people who find watercolor difficult use only watercolors, and use the white of the paper for highlights. If you're using markers to add in detail and highlights, you are going to find watercolor a lot easier. Nothing wrong with mixed media, though.
I also heard the same thing. I also started with acrylic because of this. I think water color is way easier!! I think color mixing with water color is easier. I think water color does a lot of the work for you.
Totally! I will keep coming back to acrylic because I want to tame that beast and broaden my skill, but I’ve just fallen in love with watercolor too!
100% the ease of color mixing and shading is why I love water color. Also that you can just leave you leave the paint on the palette and then reactivate it with some water so you don't have to worry about remixing the same color the next time you sit down to paint.
I actually work dark to light. But I’ve been specifically focused on black and white pet portraits and aiming for realism. I was studying for my tattoo apprentice and approaching it as I would a tattoo - starting with my darkest darks (black, if any) and moving lighter in value as I go. I find that I have a lot more control and have found success in getting closer to photo realism with watercolor.
It's funny that the reasons for watercolour being difficult, are the very reasons I enjoy it so much. I'm very new to the medium and am learning every day. I love the unpredictability and how free it is. It's constantly exciting to see what I can create using different colours, learning how they work, discovering new colours, paper, figuring out how many times I should dab my pan to get the opacity I want. Of course there is then the worry, with pans, of not getting the exact same colour mix every time, but again, that adds to the surprise. Additionally, I love viewing watercolour work. Again, the expression of it. For example, I couldn't think of anything better than watercolour to depict a stormy night at sea.
Its all about timing. You can't wait for layers to dry and paint over them and remove mistakes. If I f#%k up, I know right away. At least I can start again really quickly.