A Weakness for Watercolor: My Painting Journey Plus Tips

Ever since I was little, I remember watercolor being my favorite painting medium. There was always something magical about combining water with pigment to get beautiful color that could be manipulated a thousand different ways. So naturally when I recently decided to pick up painting again, and I immediately went for the watercolors.

I get so much happiness out of using this medium! I love the versatility of the colors and textures, the fluidity and depth. Many in the art world proclaim it as the most difficult medium, because of it's relative difficulty to control compared to it's thicker, non-water based counterparts. But there is just nothing that can compare to watercolor for me. 

My portrait of Natalie Portman

I started out with a basic pallette set from Hobby Lobby that cost only $4.99 (note: not the pearlescent version shown). Although the paints aren't the highest quality and aren't guaranteed to stand the test of time like many other sets, I still highly recommend this set for any beginner. The paint works well and the set includes all the essential colors.

This bird's nest was one of my first pieces. I learned the technique by watching this tutorial video by thefrugalcrafter Lindsay Weirich who is absolutely fabulous. It's actually very simple!

I used some Leow-Cornell brushes that I originally bought to use with oil paint. Although it may be better to use brushes that are specifically made for water-color, I found that these worked just fine for me. The set was also at Hobby Lobby, and the brushes come in all different sizes.

After playing around with these for a little while, I decided to up my game a little bit. I bought some better quality paints that come in small tubes. They're "Authentic Chinese Watercolors" made by Yasutomo - $7.99 at Hobby Lobby. The colors are richer and much more vivid out of the tube. The paint comes out thickly, and you mix it with water to control it's color density.

My favorite colors in this set are 55, 58 and 55; vivid cyan, deep burgundy and beautiful indigo shades.

I quickly discovered the endless possibilities of stencils and watercolor. The above portrait of Natalie Portman was inspired by this awesome tutorial on how to create a stencil portrait using photoshop by Mr. Otter Art Studio. This girl has made a ton of super helpful tutorial videos where she really breaks it down for us step-by-step, and shows us some super easy ways of achieving professional looking styles.

Paper is extremely important in working with this medium. Cold press, a thick paper that can handle a lot of water application, is one of the only viable options for this medium. 140 lb. or higher is what I use. I quickly found out that using anything less heavy than this can be a real pain if you use water as much as I do. I purchased this Strathmore paper at Hobby Lobby for $9.99. This brand comes in a wide array of sizes, from post-card sized to almost poster sized.

Watercolor pencils are a must. These things are awesome. They allow you to first draw and color in pencil - adding color-blending and shading, then apply water over with a brush the penciling and it becomes paint. I purchased a set of pencils by Kimberly/General's at Michaels for about $14. There were cheaper sets, but after trying some of them, I noticed that they didn't quite blend as well as these.

I had a blast making this one. I made a simple stencil of the state of Georgia, then went crazy with the color bleeding, splattering etc. I was inspired by some of my favorite Etsy artists including WatercolorBook and Paulrommer.

I am really proud of this one! This was my first time trying the drip effect, and I am very pleased with the outcome. I was inspired by the incredible artist Marion Bolognesi. It's very much my own style, but her amazing drip effect portraits blow my mind and I had to try something similar. I kind of can't believe I painted this. It just goes to show you, just because you're a beginner doesn't mean you can't do great things with a little practice! I am looking for the best outlet to make some prints of this one.

The act of painting is extremely relaxing and therapeutic for me. It also is an incredible creativity booster in general. I recommend it to everyone, regardless of the confidence they have in their artistic abilities.

I am looking forward to continuing my painting journey and I definitely feel like I get better with each painting! Watercolor is one of the most inexpensive painting mediums there is, so giving it a try won't be too big of a risk. And the rewards are endless! :)