Is watercolour good for beginners?
I say YES! Here’s 4 reasons why I’ve founded watercolour to be a wonderful medium for my beginner students at my art classes in Casuarina NSW and in my online paining classes.
Ease of experimentation
watercolour allows for spontaneity and experimentation. It’s transparent nature and fluidity make it easy to correct mistakes and blend colours seamlessly. For beginners, this forgiving quality provides a sense of freedom and encourages creative exploration without the fear of making irreparable errors.
2. Affordable price
Moreover, watercolour paints are accessible and affordable, making them ideal for beginners on a budget. With just a few basic colours and a set of brushes, aspiring artists can dive headfirst into the world of watercolour painting without breaking the bank.
3. Easy clean up
Unlike oil paints that require solvents for cleaning or acrylic paints that dry quickly, watercolour paints are water-soluble and easy to clean up, making them a hassle-free option for beginners.
4. Therapeutic qualities
Beyond its practicality, watercolour painting offers a therapeutic and meditative experience for beginners. The process of blending colours, manipulating water, and watching pigments dance across the paper can be incredibly calming and immersive. For beginners seeking a creative outlet to unwind and destress, watercolour painting provides a sanctuary of tranquility and self-expression.
Watercolour painting nurtures patience and discipline in beginners as they learn to embrace the unpredictability of the medium. From mastering techniques like wet-on-wet and dry brushing to understanding the importance of layering and negative space, watercolour painting teaches valuable lessons in observation, patience, and perseverance. Each brushstroke becomes a lesson in mindfulness, encouraging beginners to slow down, observe the world around them, and capture its beauty on paper.
In this masterclass you’ll create a frame-worthy watercolour painting of a humpback whale swimming through the ocean. And in the process you’ll gain the skills and confidence to push yourself to new heights with the medium of watercolour!
In part one you’ll learn:
What is watercolour
what materials to use and what not to use (the #1 mistake most beginner watercolorists make is using the wrong materials!)
The 2 main techniques for watercolour: wet-on-wet and wet-on-dry
The “Smerdon System of watercolour” (my unique techniques and terms including: glazing, moozsch moozsch-ing, sloshing and feathering).
In part 2 you’ll learn:
How to use watercolour to create the effect of water
How to let go, loosen up and stop overworking your watercolours
The importance of tones and why your art will always look dull, flat and lifeless without them
How to paint less but achieve more! Let the watercolour do the work so you don’t have to!
It’s completely free because I don’t want anyone to miss out on the joy of painting with watercolour. I wan’t everyone to try it! There’s no obligation to take things further, you’ll simply join my Artory newsletter which very rarely sends out emails (and you can opt out anytime).
Anne