I am in the process of putting together a 6 week watercolor course locally and thought I would share a little bit about the course as well as why I love watercolor, and why you should give it a try!

I didn’t start out painting with watercolor, I started with acrylic. Watercolor is harder to control and I didn’t get the results I was looking for when I tried. But I decided to learn more about it, and have never looked back. I do still paint with acrylics, but not very often.

A lot of people find watercolor hard. Either it has a mind of it’s own on the paper (which it does), or they end up with a puddle of brown water in the center of their paper. But, with the right knowledge and practice, you can go from the puddle in the middle of your paper, to a beautiful piece of artwork, in a relatively short space of time. It’s all about practice, and understanding how the medium works.

In my upcoming course I will be teaching about:

• Best materials (paper, paint, brushes)
• Watercolor paints and how they work
• Color theory
• Brush and water control
• Shadows and highlights
• Washes vs wet on dry
• Adding textures using various techniques
• Composition
• Several small, finished paintings, along with one final bigger project.

Why should you try watercolor? First, painting in general is very relaxing and calming. So no matter what medium you choose, this is a great reason to start painting. Second, watercolor is one of the most versatile painting mediums for it’s cost. One small tube of paint can give you a huge tonal range unlike most other mediums. Third, it’s very transportable. Watercolor palettes can be small and foldable. Watercolor paints can dry out and be rehydrated at will, unlike other paints, making it easy to take just a palette rather than tubes and tubes of colors. Fourth, watercolor is one of the easier mediums to paint loosely, it’s unpredictable nature is perfect for that, but it’s also easy to paint very realistic, detailed paintings when you learn how to control the water levels and paint.

I love watercolor. The soft tones, ease of blending, and the layers of transparent colors that gives the painting a beautiful depth and soft feel. I have also thought about doing a zoom watercolor class so that people from all over could join and paint along with me. If you would enjoy that, I’d love to hear from you!