Watercolor

Watercolor is an art that can be traced back to primitive times, using pigments mixed with water to create paintings. It’s evolved slightly through the centuries, but still retains its base formula of water and pigment. The Egyptians used it for their temples and tombs, the Chinese and Japanese used it to paint landscapes and calligraphy. While Europe is most commonly associated with the medium (due to the many famous paintings and painters that exist in its history), watercolor is very apparent in historical paintings all over the world. Watercolor was used in maps, writing, and became increasingly widespread as paper started to become more commonplace. [1] [2]

Now, watercolor is one of the most common art mediums. You can almost always find at least a couple of palettes and brushes in any art classroom. It’s easily accessible and cheap to buy. Watercolor paints don’t require much work to start using, nor do they require many tools. I chose to start with watercolor because I have experience using it and because it’s easy to learn and experiment with as a beginner. Watercolor is a good medium; it can be hard to control at times, but it works well in many ways. I personally find it enjoyable to use. Sometimes it gets messy if I add too much water, but sometimes it works perfectly and blends seamlessly.

While I was experimenting, I found that certain techniques worked better for me. For the first day, I looked up different watercolor techniques and messed around with them. It was fun to try and I made a small doodle to color in. I used a few of the techniques I’d practiced and it ended up looking pretty good.

The second day of experimenting, I started making a more final piece. I added an underpainting of purple to the sketch, mindful of lighting. After that I did some color blocking and minor shading. I do recommend getting slightly more professional brushes if you can because the one that comes with a cheap watercolor palette won’t last long and will shed in your paint.

Third day was more intensive shading and adding minor details. There wasn’t much left that I could think to do. I did make a few minor mistakes but they aren’t too noticeable. I thoroughly enjoyed messing around with watercolors, and I would recommend using them if you want to paint for fun.