Watercolor Block
Self- taught watercolorist…?
Okay, I sorta taught myself how to watercolor about this time of July last year. I’ve been practicing this and that all year long, and now, I’ve sorta hit a road block. Now what? Get lessons? Buy a new, nicer set and an art book? What do you do at this point, keep going self-taught, get drawing lessons or something more useful? I don’t know what’s next.
When you hit this roadblock what it means is that you have taken the self-taught path about as far as you profitably can and you are ready to take things up a notch. Find a class and look for a teacher you mesh well with. Even a short course of six or eight classes will teach you techniques that will turbo-fuel your fun with the watercolors. If there aren’t classes being offered in your area there are a ton of good watercolor books out there that will teach you the basics. (The one I have is The Watercolor Book by David Dewey. Cheap and FULL of good tips — the amazon link is below.) You may also go to your community center or local art gallery and see if they can put you in touch with a local artist who is willing to give a few private lessons. Expect to pay anywhere from $20-30/hr for a private lesson in the US, but you will only need a few to start you going in a new direction and it is really worth the money.
There is a forum on-line called wetcanvas.com that is wonderful for artists who want to learn more. It has an almost limitless amount of information and lots of very friendly and helpful members and forums for every medium where other artists are more than happy to answer questions. You can even upload pictures and ask for critiques and you will get lots of helpful information that way — may even be able to connect with other watercolorists in your area that you will make good “art pals” with. It’s critical to have other artists to play with and bounce your ideas off of each other.
A word about supplies — yes! Better supplies are a great idea! Good paper is almost more critical to watercolor than top-drawer paint. Arches makes the best paper in my experience — expensive but worth it. If there isn’t an extensive selection where you buy art supplies, go to www.jerrysartarama.com — they sell literally every art supply under the sun and the prices are good. You’ll be like a kid in a candy store!
Top-drawer paint for watercolor –there are many brands — ones I have had good experience with are Yarka, Holbein, Sennelier and MaimeriBlu. Less expensive watercolors that are still just fine are Van Gogh and Winsor&Newton. Avoid Rives — even though (or especially because) it’s so cheap — there isn’t enough pigment ini there to make it worth your while.
You might want to get a watercolor easel so you can work out of doors and have fun with landscape. You’ll probably want a watercolor palette so you can mix big, rich puddles to play with.
Good brushes are a must. Isabey’s squirrel mop is good for most of the work you will do. The brushes are not cheap but they last forever. (I spent $26 on a size 2 squirrel mop 10 years ago and it is still the brush I use the most frequently.) Other companies make squirrel mops for less money but I have discovered that they don’t perform as beautifully as the Isabey, for what that is worth.
One of the watercolor toys I haev had TONS of fun playing with is a cheap and fairly good field kit from Winsor & Newton — unbelievably compact and smaller than the average purse — with everything you need; brush, paper, pencil, water bottle, paints, and carrying bag. I have brought this with me literally all over the country and it is so much fun to work with I can’t even tell you — and not a bad price, about $25. Here’s teh link to get this thingy –
https://www.jerrysartarama.com/art-supply/catalogs/0063356000000
I hope you have lots of fun with this and enjoy playing with the paint!!! It sounds like you are ready to take the next step.