Watercolor painting by
Karen Hunt
Karen Hunt's watercolor learning experience:
Water color painting starts from an observation of a picture or a real object. First start by looking at the picture and allow yourself to see what colors are needed. What colors need to be lighter and which ones should be darker. The Three primary colors are red, blue and yellow. They cannot be mixed from other colors, but they are the basis from which other colors can be mixed. Start with the area that you want to paint first. This is the first wash, when the paper dries you can add more paint or lift off the make the paint lighter. The lighting is very important in painting. A valuable tool in painting is to look for ten seconds in each area that has been painted. This will allow the painter to see what areas have the right contrast of paint.
Composition directly expresses ones emotions. When a person draws a picture you have to ask yourself, does the picture make you feel good? If not either the drawing is too small, or maybe not large enough.
Value, color and lighting are the three basic tools for a realistic picture. Without the proper lighting the picture will appear to dark. When painting a picture it is helpful to walk away from the painting and look at the picture later. This allows a person to look at their painting with fresh eyes. Another valuable took in painting is not to rush. Take time to really evaluate your painting and let the colors set before trying to make them darker or lighter.
