Introduction to Watercolor
Your black & white drawings look great by themselves, but adding color will really make them jump off the page. Don't be intimidated, coloring is easier than you think and I have simplified it to make it fun. You have done an extraordinary job up to now and this will be a piece of cake.
Paints and brushes can be found at your local Artists Supply store or on-line.
Basic Paints (Purchase transparent watercolor paints and get these colors in small tube form)
Brushes (prices range greatly, work within your budget)
Materials found around the house
Preparation:
Squeeze out a little of the Ultramarine Blue and Cobalt Blue onto your plate or dish (just a dab, a little goes a long way as you will soon see).
Dip the tip of the #12 round brush into your cup of water. Bring it over to the paint and touch the tip of the brush to one of the dabs of blue paint. The water from the brush mixes with the concentrated color and liquefies as in the above photo. The color has been transferred onto the brush. Now make some practice strokes on the blank paper as in the example. This will give you a feel for how the paint reacts as it touches the paper. The paper will wrinkle a bit so don't be concerned. You will notice as you paint a few swipes, the color gets lighter. When this happens re-dip the brush in the cup and go back to the palette and get some more paint. Mix the Ultramarine with the Cobalt Blue to see what happens. The result will make the color more intense. Practice as long as you want, copy paper is pretty cheap. As the samples dry you will notice the color lets a little of the white of the paper show thru. The blue is transparent and this will be more evident when you apply paint to a drawing. When you are comfortable with the technique, move onto More Introduction to Watercolor.
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Produced by Jim Stilwell, all artwork copyrighted 2020