Get it? Faint of heart.... Okay, I won't quit my day job. Haha!
As you know, a while back I started a 6-week watercolor painting class. It was cut short a couple weeks ago due to the instructor needing to have unplanned surgery. A LOT of information was crammed into those five weeks! Every week, we learned new techniques and then started a new project to practice the technique. At the same time, we were to finish our "masterpiece". Heh, yeah that didn't happen.
The only project I finished during the class was the one where we learned about washes. I liked my painting just fine until... the instructor had us lift out fog. In retrospect, I would've used a smaller brush to wet the area before lift off. Would've been nice if he would've told us what brush sizes to use.
Yesterday, I finished one where we learned clouds, water, rocks, and sand. At first, I was getting frustrated because I didn't like how the rocks on the right side of the page looked. I think it looks okay now. The interesting thing about this project is that we all started with the same basic design and they all turned out different.
I'm still working on the floral exercise. I apparently, I missed a petal at the bottom and painted over it with the background wash. So I had to add it and darken the lower petals. I'm thinking I should darken the upper ones also, but the instructor says to leave them. What do you think?
Sadly, my "masterpiece" is barely started. I didn't like having so many unfinished paintings so I focused on finishing those rather than start yet another one. This is all the farther I've gotten.
Things I've learned:
• Practice, practice, practice! I still haven't gotten the hang of wet-on-wet.
• Know when to stop. If you're unsure, stop.
• Cheap watercolor paper sucks. Spring for the good stuff. There's less frustration.
Until next time...
As you know, a while back I started a 6-week watercolor painting class. It was cut short a couple weeks ago due to the instructor needing to have unplanned surgery. A LOT of information was crammed into those five weeks! Every week, we learned new techniques and then started a new project to practice the technique. At the same time, we were to finish our "masterpiece". Heh, yeah that didn't happen.
The only project I finished during the class was the one where we learned about washes. I liked my painting just fine until... the instructor had us lift out fog. In retrospect, I would've used a smaller brush to wet the area before lift off. Would've been nice if he would've told us what brush sizes to use.
Yesterday, I finished one where we learned clouds, water, rocks, and sand. At first, I was getting frustrated because I didn't like how the rocks on the right side of the page looked. I think it looks okay now. The interesting thing about this project is that we all started with the same basic design and they all turned out different.
Each week when the instructor did a demonstration painting, each of us had to guess a number to see who "won" the painting. I "won" the instructor's version of the rock and water painting. The nice thing is there were only four of us in class so each of us got a painting.
I'm still working on the floral exercise. I apparently, I missed a petal at the bottom and painted over it with the background wash. So I had to add it and darken the lower petals. I'm thinking I should darken the upper ones also, but the instructor says to leave them. What do you think?
Sadly, my "masterpiece" is barely started. I didn't like having so many unfinished paintings so I focused on finishing those rather than start yet another one. This is all the farther I've gotten.
Things I've learned:
• Practice, practice, practice! I still haven't gotten the hang of wet-on-wet.
• Know when to stop. If you're unsure, stop.
• Cheap watercolor paper sucks. Spring for the good stuff. There's less frustration.
Until next time...
