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Anyone into painting (more specifically watercolors?)
Just curious. I've been trying to understand watercolors better. What I love about watercolors: so much expression, so much freedom. It also seems like a uniquely frustrating medium; understanding how much water is needed, how water reacts with certain papers, different types of brushes, etc. (I should mention it's the only painting I do, so maybe this stuff isn't unique to watercolor.)
Curious if there's any other watercolor enthusiasts here. Care to share your experiences, or tips for a novice?
My mom uses watercolor and has a whole lot of different watercolor paints, papers, etc. Through her, I've tried a lot of them, but I haven't put in the required practice yet. I'm still struggling to make watercolor art that I'm satisfied with, which makes it hard to motivate myself to put in the hours. I have a similar lack of practice with acrylic paint, but I've found that I can at least massage acrylic into something nice; but watercolor looks horrible if you overwork it, so I can't iterate over my mistakes.
However, one thing I have found is that painting in just a single color, or a small number of closely related colors, is a whole lot easier than using the whole spectrum and mixing colors. The medium is already so hard to control that any additional complications just result in me making a big, colorful mess.
My biggest successes, by far, have come from using the ArtGraf earth color set with these Aquash water brushes. I basically use the ArtGraf set by running the wet brush over the color block to pick up some pigment, and then I paint it onto the page. I've stuck to very small images and cheap paper to begin with because they are less heart-wrenching to mess up.
After I got used to using these, I also got the blue one, which offer a nice contrast to the earth tones for shading/shadows. (Note, I did not buy the ArtGraf set online because I was scared they would break during shipping. I got them from a physical art store. To protect them, I store them — case and all — in a plastic bag that used to contain bagels. It's just narrow enough that it hugs the packaging and stops the the blocks from slipping out.)
I wouldn't normally buy such expensive paints when I'm still learning, but when I tried my mom's set, I loved it so freaking much that I had to get my own. And as a beginner, I appreciate brushes that maintain a consistent moisture level because it's hard for me to pay attention to how dry my brush is getting. As a general rule, you can only learn one thing at a time.
On a related note, I've been experimenting with painting alcohol-based wood stains onto wood off cuts using watercolor brushes. Staining wood is very similar to using watercolor because you can't go lighter, only darker, and the medium is very liquid. Unfortunately, my experience has been that it's a lot harder to control than watercolor because it wicks through the wood grain like crazy. On the other hand, the wood grain adds a lot of texture and interest, so you can pretty much just paint an area a flat color and it comes out looking pretty nice. The grain also helps disguise mistakes. If I can figure out how to thicken the stain enough to make it a little easier to control, I think it will be the best (or at least the easiest) of both worlds.
As an experiment this past weekend, I mixed wood stain with hand sanitizer and made this, which I'm thrilled about. (In addition to the stain, the outlines are pyrography, which helps arrest stain wicking, and I also added some white acrylic paint for the window and candle.) Unfortunately, the aloe gel in hand sanitizer isn't stable and needs to be washed off. I was hoping that the dye would sink through the gel and into the wood, but a lot of it stayed suspended in the gel and got washed away with it, resulting in the piece coming out faded and flat-looking. However, as a proof of concept, I am over the moon; the original (before washing) came out so much better than I hoped. I just need to find a more stable thickener for the wood stain, and then I'll be in business.
Hey this is a great post. thank you very much for sharing all of this. I want to share that if you're struggling to get the effects you want (you mentioned you were at the top of your post), you might really consider if it's not an issue of you but an issue of the paper you are using. I mention this because you talked about the difference you had when you used the more expensive paints (and also because you mentioned you are using cheap paper).
I have only recently accepted how much of a different the paper can make. I finally had the chance to try some decent watercolor paper (rather than the canson xl I usually used), and damn, the difference for wet in wet was remarkable... as in, exact same amount of water, same paint, same brush, same strokes - completely different results on one paper vs the other. tbh, I'm still sticking with my cheap canson paper for now, because I just want to practice and do some other things, just do be aware of how much difference it can make, so that if you are stalled you don't think "damn why isn't this happening, why can't I get this right"; it really might just be that the paper won't allow you to do what you want to do. Some papers, especially cheap papers, just can't handle the level of water; they bloom horrendously, the paint doesn't move around well. It's just limiting. So don't think it's you.
Those art graf paints look really cool. Damn those earth tone colors look so beautiful, like mouth watering here. I have only used winsor & newton cotman (their cheap student line), along with some no name brands of paint, so I have never used very nice paints before. I imagine the difference is very noticeable.
p.s. i have that exact set of aqush brushes and i seriously love them
That's a very good point! It very well could be the paper.
Out of curiosity, do you have any insights with different types of paper you've tried? I've tried a few of my mom's, but I wasn't privy to which brands ones were which brand or product. (Unfortunately, I live overseas from her and haven't gotten a chance to see my family since the pandemic started, so it's not something I can trivially try again.)
oh man, I wish I could be a better help here... I am going to try to give some decent info, and I hope something in here helps. so tbh, the "good" paper I used was just some very middle of the line, no-name paper that came in a random watercolor set. But it was still better than my canson xl and made a huge difference in how it handled the water + paint (genuinely night and day different). I'm not sure how much you've dived into paper, so feel free to skip this part: so watercolor paper is made with either wood pulp/cellulose (this will be your cheap papers like canson xl), or cotton. Some papers are a blend between both. Most folks will recommend 100% cotton paper; it behaves differently than cellulose paper and absorbs the water differently. That said, it is generally much pricier.
I was recently discussing this on reddit, and here's a comment someone gave me when I asked about inexpensive cotton watercolor paper:
I don't know if a second-hand recommendation helps... Note that in each of these brands, there will likely be different tiers, so find the ones that are 100% cotton (example: in strathmore, only the 500 series is cotton, 400 and below is blended or cellulose). On the opposite end of the spectrum, the absolute top-tier papers I always see people recommend: Arches, Legion stonehenge, Saunders Waterford. As you can see, these are all very expensive at over $1 per sheet for a 9x12 sheet (which is why I've never had the chance to use it). Some people swear by this stuff and will only paint on it, even when learning, but I bet you will see the difference even if you just go for a cheaper tier cotton paper.
If you are curious about all this, here is what you might do: purchase just one set of cotton paper (whether one of the more inexpensive ones in the reddit comment, or one of the expensive ones), just to see how it behaves. Take one of the sheets and just play with it; don't try and make a final painting (take the pressure off), just do the things you've been struggling with on your cheaper paper (maybe just throw down some basic brush strokes or try some wet in wet), and see if you notice a difference.
Few other things to note: on sites like blick, you can get little practice sheets so you can try out these expensive papers. example: here's 10 2''x3'' sheets of legion stonehenge for $2. If you ever make a blick order you might consider throwing one of these in here, if you're not ready yet to buy a full pack of cotton paper from somewhere.
EDIT: Here is a youtube video I found that might appeal to you: Affordable 100% Cotton Watercolor Paper
Few subreddits and forums that you can likely get good personal recommendations on:
I hope this didn't overwhelm you, and hope something here is useful.
Wow, what a great comment! I am going to make a note of this and look into it the next time I'm at an art store!
I hope it helps! And I hope you continue making your wood stains + alcohol art, such a cool and creative idea. It seems you come up with creative ways to use supplies or combine things together. I envy people who do that. Keep making cool stuff!!
p.s. that wood stain art + alcohol is so cool!! What an awesome idea. You do seem to really like these earthy tones :) As do I. I bet you would love charcoal :) I only recently learned you can get brown charcoal sticks.
I've never heard of brown charcoal! Does it come in a water soluble form?
I am not honestly sure, I've never looked for that. Wow, looking it up and there's "liquid charcoal" - never even heard of it! Very cool video reviewing them, check it out. Here's the ones she has in her video, they are expensive!
oh man, genuinely apologize for 3 replies here, but was looking back at your post and wanted to share one other thing. with regards to buying supplies online and worrying about it breaking, if you ever get the chance, check out dickblick.com. They only sell art supplies, and are actually really good about care in shipping; you can even call after you place your order and give them special instructions like "please use extra bubble wrap or something" (i would recommend to do so). Shipping takes a while, and you gotta spend a bit to get free shipping, but i get the stuff worry free. (prices are hit or miss. they also usually have specials like, get a free canson xl pad if you place an order or something.)
Buying in a physical store is great if you do have that opportunity that though. there are none near me so this is my option which is why i ended up finding blick, so thought i would just share this
How good is Dick Blick! I've only been in their retail stores — I didn't realize they had an online store — but I'm not surprised that they take good care of customers' orders. I live in Australia now, so I doubt they'd ship to me, but that's something I'll keep in mind when I'm back in the US visiting my family.
But that makes me think there are probably art stores in Australia that are similarly careful with shipping art products. I bet that buying from a reputable art supply company (rather than from a more generic retailer) means they likely have a better understanding of the fragility of their products, especially if they have retail shops as well. (When I worked retail, we always received a number of damaged products that we had to send back, so we got a pretty good idea which items ship well and which items need special care.)
see now, I'm the opposite, I have never been inside a physical dickblick store haha only the online. Yeah, I would see if there are any good art supply stores in Australia, and then look around online for reviews, specifically with regards to shipping. So many art supplies are so fragile, and so if they are good I'd hope they would be weary of that (especially since art supplies can be so damn expensive, and for some people it is their whole livelihood.) I think a physical store is always great, but if you find a good online retailer then it might open your options up a bit :) I would never purchase art supplies from amazon!
I actually recently got some new prismacolor pencils (which are pretty fragile as pencils go!) from samsclub recently, and they actually shipped so, so well; I was really impressed. Under normal circumstances I'd never chance it but they were a good deal lol and I have no stores here that sell supplies so I just took the chance...
How are the Prismacolor pencils going for you?
Personally I love my prismacolor premier pencils. Love them! They are so smooth and blend so nicely, and lots of gorgeous colors. I can't get enough of them, and probably one of my favorite things. They are very fragile, so be careful. If you drop one on the ground, the core can break inside, and you will find the pencil just breaking off whenever you try to sharpen it. This is one thing people don't like about them, I think. Prismacolors are a little controversial in that some people really hate those pencils. Maybe they have used better pencils and that's why? I'm not sure. I haven't ever used the top-tier pencils like caran d'arche so I can't compare to them. But they work just great for me. Might also just be preference of material; the prismacolors are wax-based and I think some folks prefer oil-based ones (Which are pricier).
Here is a really cool, inexpensive blending set from prismacolor. For $10 I think it's worth it, personally. Out of everything in that set, the colorless blender is what I'd recommend most. You can grab one at an art supply shop (from any brand, not just prismacolor) for about $2. Think of it like a blending stump for colored pencils or something, it just lets you smooth out and blend the colors together and works so well. The little stick on the right of the package is a pencil holder; if your pencil gets too short, you can put it in there and still get life out of the pencil :) If you do get this set, make sure to look up how to use a kneaded eraser if you've never used one before. It's not obvious! I had to watch a video.
I also have prismacolor verithens also. They are pretty inexpensive, and are for fine details. I haven't really used them that much because I haven't had a reason to, so I can't go into detail. These pencils aren't for blending and they aren't smooth, but that's not their purpose. I'm not sure if they're better or worse than other similar pencils, so might be others are just as good.
I hate to keep spamming prismacolor, but if you do get the premier pencils, you might give some thought to grabbing their pencil sharpener. The thing with these pencils, is that sharpening them is when they tend to break, so getting a decent sharpener that fits the pencil can be well worth the investment. Here's a video from blick on how to properly sharpen pencils without breaking them. (This technique applies to all pencils, not just prismacolors). Well worth the watch, because it's counter-intuitive to how most people would sharpen.
You should check out The Mind of Watercolor on YouTube. He's an amazing artist that shows how to use watercolor effectively, given that it seems to have a mind of its own. It's a lovely channel.
oh I really like him! I have only watched a few videos but he is just great. I will have to watch some more videos. Here is a personal favorite of mine: Paul Clark. He's just always so friendly and has a nice sense or humor, always takes away the tension I get about painting and makes things feel more comfortable for me. I got his watercolor book and really enjoy it.
I've dipped in and out of watercolours and acrylics for years but always found watercolours to be the more difficult of the two until I found out about Ox Gall, an additive you put in your water. It makes the paint flow better and gives you that ''watercoloury'' look you might be missing. Hope that helps.
oh wow, never heard of this before, thank you so much! Yeah, I'm not stuck on watercolors per say, just love the "watercoloury" look as well. A few other fun things I've discovered that can help achieve a watercolory look, without actually using watercolors, in case it is beneficial to anyone
Derwent graphitint pencils - water soluble graphite pencils. these are really nice
Caran d'Ache Neocolor II Aquarelle - water soluble pastels
Watercolor brush pens - this is a really inexpensive set of watercolor brush pens. Nice beginners set that I enjoy.
Of course none of these are really painting, so might be a hard pass for folks who want to stick to painting only. But for folks who are more into drawing or maybe pastels who want to get a watercolor look, these might be fun to try out. I have all 3 above and no complaints (the caran d'ache are super pricey, so I only have an 8 set I believe, but even that limited set is fun to play with and they really do live up to the name.)
EDIT: Is it ok to share product recommends on tildes? Didn't think of that. Lots of art stuff is word of mouth and I've gotten so many recommends using online forums which is why I try to share as well, I promise I don't benefit from any of this personally
Im a big fan of Inktense, for a little more controllable direct colour and Gelly Roll white for post paint highlights.
I have never tried derwent inktense, i have read really great things about them. Which size set do you have? (do you have a small set and find it's good enough, or you have a larger set?) I actually really like watercolor pencils; they can be so hit or miss, but the good ones are so good (i hear derwent are great). The derwent graphitint are a bit different; they are very much a graphite pencil, and the colors are not traditional, but really interesting/muted. I didn't even know water soluble graphite pencils existed until last year, and was so excited when i found them.
man i am going to have to dig out the watercolor pencils i do have now and give them a go again, i never gave them a fair shot.
I bought the 24 pack? years ago but found I only really use the dark colours since i feel like they give the biggest impact and provide something thats more difficult to achieve with paint. So I just buy the single pencils that I need now, if I was starting now I would get black, deep indigo, chinese black, madder brown, and maybe throw in a bright yellow or red if I fancied trying it, I never found the antique white worthwhile and as above prefer to use pens for highlighting but you might find some value in it.
If nothing else the black is super valuable for the depth of colour, indigo the same.
Individually theyre not that expensive though I often search ebay and frequently have luck.
thanks a lot, I will give them a try. Oh, ebay is a great idea!
I've been trying watercolours in art class. I like the expressiveness. I haven't tried any own motives yet, I've just been following step-by-step guides in coursebooks we have lying around in the classroom. I like it, but not sure whether I can translate it to doing this in my free time in the future.
Oh that sounds like so much fun! Even if you don't end up liking it enough to do on your own in the future, it's really cool that you're getting to try a variety of things, especially in the context of an art class. What a great opportunity. I wish you so much success with that
I'm trying to get back into watercolor painting. I bought myself a little Cotman student palette, which, even if it isn't super high quality, is better than the stuff I've used previously. And I've been experimenting with masking fluid, which I love! It allows so much more control over the white space in a painting and it means I can be a bit more deliberate and precise with how I want the image to work.
Seeing what you've said higher up in the thread though, I should definitely try and get some higher quality paper. I'm mainly painting in my general purpose sketchbook at the moment which isn't ideal, though it works fine for quick sketches when I'm out and about.
I use the cotman student paints as well, and yeah, way better than the stuff I had before. Yes I would highly recommend at least trying out some cotton watercolor paper, even if you just had one pad that you picked up for $15 or so, and keep to the side just for comparing techniques against your canson xl / similar cheap paper. That way you can see the difference and gauge when you want to use the cheap stuff, and will realize when your progress is being hindered by the paper itself. I wish you much success!