Watercolor painting by
Grace Taylor
Grace Taylor's watercolor learning experience:
Thus far the pictures I have mad have been fairly simplistic. It was difficult especially for me to let go of the control and then let the water do its own thing. The work of others inspired me and I painted some flowers. I didn’t worry so much about making the flowers into their perfect shape, but instead, just let the water flow. I used more color than I had before and that made me see that the more color in a painting, the easier it is to see what to do next.
The experience with the flowers gave me the confidence to try something difficult. I have never painted a person before. I even had a tough time drawing realistic people, but I decided to paint a portrait of my best friend Chris. As directed I started sketching out the face onto my watercolor paper. Initially even the shape of his head was difficult to grasp. I found myself switching most everything that I originally drew on the paper. With proper instruction I learned not to paint or draw the teeth, which made little sense at the time, but after I was finished it looked much better than if I had actually outlined the teeth.
After a few hours I finally felt confident with the drawing. I began to paint using the technique of letting go of the water. The result was delightful! The colors on a face are so smooth and creamy that it was necessary to let them run together. This helped create the appropriate shadows and wrinkle lines. I finished with the eyes and walked away from the painting. When I returned I saw a lifelike watercolor of my best friend Chris and was ultimately very satisfied.
