Watercolor Painting for Dummies (2 page)
Read Watercolor Painting for Dummies Online
Authors: Colette Pitcher
Tags: #Art, #Techniques, #Watercolor Painting, #General
H
ave you ever looked at a painting and thought, “I could do that”? Or maybe you think, “I wish I could do that.” Well, with this book and a little determination, you can turn your wish into a masterpiece.
I have had the benefit of learning from the very best watercolorists in the world. In this book, I share the knowledge they’ve shared with me. I think each generation of watercolorists improves with time and better materials. The masters have passed the torch, and it’s an honor to carry on the gospel of art and keep the watercolor flowing with you.
This book is all about painting watercolors. Although you may get an appreciation of the art of painting by reading this book, there’s no substitute for doing. You must paint yourself. Yes, you can paint a self-portrait or paint on yourself, but what I mean is, you must paint. It’s the only way to appreciate others’ work. It can help you see for the first time and always with a new appreciation of what you’re looking at.
Nearly every chapter offers at least one step-by-step project that incorporates the theory and the techniques introduced in that chapter. After duplicating my paintings, you can try the projects again with subjects you choose. Although I give you all the instructions to be successful in painting the exercise, you can make your own choices at any point. I give you a paper size, but if you want a different size, just enlarge or reduce the pattern to your preferred size. I tell you what colors I used, but you can use any colors you have.
Most practice opportunities use relatively small paper, almost postcard size. You can keep these assignments together and create a nifty reference book. You can use this book as a workbook, going through the exercises and doing extra paintings on your own. If you do a chapter a month, you’ll have a great year of watercolor.
Along with all the painting projects, I also show you how to create interesting effects, compose a good picture, and use color to full advantage, all in an easy-to-access and easy-to-understand format. I don’t use art speak. I just tell you in plain English how to plan, compose, design, and paint watercolors. And that’s what you were hoping for when you picked up this book, isn’t it?
And, in keeping with the
For Dummies
philosophy, this book is organized so that you can dip in wherever the topic interests you and get all the information you need on that subject in one spot. You don’t have to read the book from cover to cover, and you don’t have to read the chapters in order.
When you’re ready to tackle a painting project, I do have one suggestion: Read through the projects from start to finish before you pick up your brush. This preview gives you a chance to see what supplies you’ll need, understand the painting’s progression, and know how much time the painting will take. Reading through the steps also gives you the opportunity to look at the pictures that show how your painting should look at different stages. And in the interest of saving the best for last, the last picture in the project shows what the finished painting looks like.
When writing this book, I used a few conventions that you should be aware of:
Italicized
text indicates that the word or term is being used for the first time and defined. It also is used in place of quotation marks, as in: The words
pigment
and
paint
are used interchangeably, which, by the way, is another convention.
Bold
text highlights the key word or phrase in a bulleted list and the action steps in a list of numbered steps.
The occasional Web or e-mail address appears in
monofont
to help it stand out in the text.
Throughout the book, you’ll see sidebars that appear in gray-shaded boxes
.
This information in the sidebar may be interesting (and I hope it is), and you may want to read it (and I hope you do), but you don’t need to read it to understand the topic at hand, so you can skip it if you like (and fortunately, I’ll never know if you do). It may be fun to flip through the book and read just the sidebars one day.
The only assumption I make about you is that you’re interested in painting with watercolors. I give you all the very basic information about art in general and watercolors in particular, so you don’t need to know a thing about any art-related topic to benefit from this book. If you picked it up, you’re already smart enough.
I arranged this book into four parts that contain chapters with information related to a common theme.
Although the book reads and leads you logically in order from the beginning to the future of your art, you don’t have to read it in order. You can skip around to work on parts that interest you. Your mood may be different each time you paint, so you need to choose a painting that fits that mood. Techniques explained in different chapters are cross-referenced, so if you need some technical how-to information, you can turn to that chapter.
You can also use this book as a reference book. You can go to a section and review the contents. In art you get a lot of information up front. You may not be ready for the information until you experience that problem. You may want to read information again after you have painted for a while. You may be painting along when suddenly “That’s what she meant!” pops into your head. Then you can go back to read a section or a chapter to cement the concept in your memory. You’ll have many “aha” moments in your painting career.
If you’ve never painted, this is the place to start. If you have painted, this section is a good refresher and an explanation of the tools and techniques I use. Every artist has a different setup and approach. In these chapters, I share mine and tell you what techniques and practices have worked well for me.
The basic elements of design are in Chapter 1. In Chapter 2, I cover the materials and products you can get in an art store and give you the information you need to ask intelligent questions and choose your supplies. After you get your supplies, what do you do with them? Well, Chapters 3 and 4 take you by the hand to try out many techniques unique to watercolor. No other medium does as many cool things. Reading these chapters and practicing the projects in them gives you a firm grasp of fundamental watercolor skills.
This part contains the art school basics that aren’t so sexy. Because of this, I sprinkle the foundations of art throughout the book. That way they sneak up on you and before you know it, you know ’em! This is core knowledge that gives you the language to discuss art. As an artist, you benefit from knowing these painting criteria when planning and executing your paintings.
Your watercolor paintings work out better if you do a little planning first. The chapters in this part show you how to mix and use color (Chapter 5), how to break down objects into geometrical shapes that you can then draw (Chapter 8), and how to use balance and variety (Chapter 6 along with the other principles of design) to compose paintings with energy and interest (Chapter 7).
If you want to capture your cat in watercolor, turn to Chapter 12 on painting animals. If the immovable objects in a still life are more your style, turn to Chapter 9. Landscapes and seascapes are covered in Chapters 10 and 11, respectively, and Chapter 13 offers more painting projects you can copy or adapt for practice.
After all the other chapters, the chapters in this part are the icing on the cake. Chapter 14 gives you quick suggestions for improving your paintings. At some point you may find that you have a stack of extra paintings and you’re willing to part with some. Chapter 15 gives you ideas on selling or marketing your paintings.
For Dummies
books use little images in the margins, called
icons,
to direct your attention to specific text. The icons I use include the following:
The text next to this icon shares a tidbit that helps make your art activity easier. Trust me, I’ve made every mistake already for you, and I want to save you some energy by not having to make the same unnecessary mistakes.
When you see this icon, get out your paints, brushes, and paper, and either duplicate a small painting project or try a technique.
This icon gives you a heads-up to remember certain information that may be covered elsewhere but is important to keep in mind.
Nothing you can reasonably do in watercolor can hurt you, but you may want to avoid the things this icon points out just to preserve your artistic sensibilities and the beauty of your paintings.
