Watercolor is getting easier. I guess it just takes a lot of practice. There are many different techniques to learn and try before you can decide which one works best for you. Because watercolors are translucent, you can either build up your colors, mixing them on the paper, or you can mix the color on the palette and put the final color down on the paper in one shot. Both techniques have different end results which are a matter of personal preference. Then there’s washes and dry brushing. Washes are what most people think of when they think of watercolor, where you lay down pigment that is heavily loaded with water and move it down the page. However even washes have different techniques to learn, like dry paper or wet paper washing. Then dry brushing is when you use a slightly dampened brush to hatch in tiny strokes of color, much like egg tempera. Which takes an eternity, but gives the artist a lot more control. It took me 6 hours to dry brush one strawberry. Just to put things into perspective.
I’ve posted some of my early practice foods here for you to see. The ones on the right were built up in layers of color while the ones on the left were mixed on the palette and then put down.
I also posted the start of my first project in watercolors. We’re making animals out of fruits and vegetables. Can you tell what I’m painting? I’m excited for this to finish this one because I think it will be really cute. I love rodents. <3
