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Watercolor Workshop DVD with Susan Harrison-Tustain

Creating a piece of artwork is a wonderful activity, and painting with watercolors is especially fun, relaxing and rewarding.

It is important to realize though when starting out with watercolors that it does take some practice and perseverance before getting the "knack" of it. With a realistic attitude and a fun approach to tackling watercoloring you will enjoy the learning process on your path to producing beautiful and intriguing paintings. Experimenting and "messing up" are all part of the process. One of the biggest secrets to success in mastering watercolor painting is persistence. Stick with it long enough for the magic to happen!

Certain things do have to be understood - such as the types of paper and how to prepare them with stretching, types of brushes and how to use them, paints, palettes and color mixing. A bit of color theory goes a long way too.

One of the challenging things about watercolor, compared to oils or acrylics, is its uncontrollable nature. That is also one of its great assets. 'Happy accidents' are a feature of many great watercolor paintings. Once the brushes start flying and the paint begins to flow, a painting can take on a life of its own. For this reason it pays to do a bit of planning and preparation before getting started. For instance, if certain critical highlights need to remain white, you can lay down some masking fluid to protect those areas from the pigment. Paintings usually progress from light to dark, so a good drawing and good subject reference - whether photographs or real life - and a plan of attack are important. As the painting progresses and takes on a life of its own, the plan will likely become secondary - but at least you will have steered it in the right direction.

It is important to surround yourself with all the required materials before starting: stretched paper on board, jars of clean water, brushes, paints, mixing palettes, plus other handy things like paper towels, pencil and rubber, masking fluid, etc. Your workspace is important too: Good lighting, comfortable desk and chair and some peace and quiet will help you get "into the zone".

Most artists like to create an initial drawing on the watercolor paper before starting a painting, but the amount of detail in that drawing is definitely a matter of personal preference. A soft pencil or charcoal leaves a line that is light enough to disappear under a few layers of pigment. Some artists prefer not to draw at all and just dig right into the process of painting, but most prefer the organization and confidence of having a structure to follow before beginning. It is preferable to not use an eraser very much on the art paper as it will upset the fibers and effect the flow of water and pigment at later stages. For this reason, it is often a good idea to create a drawing first on a sheet of paper or tissue and transfer the drawing to the final board when you are happy with the sketch. A common and very effective style of watercoloring is to allow the sketched pencil lines to show through in places of the finished artwork.

Here is a sampling of watercolor supplies on the market today. For more information on any of the items, just click the links below: