Watercolor Painting is always being a fun and enjoyable. Watercolor Painting is mostly done on paper; others are bark paper or canvas with using pigments which are water-soluble. Watercolors are usually transparent. These paintings are available from Egyptian times or from more past. Watercolors for children’s are not contains pigments or any harmful additives. The most famous watercolor painting technique is wet-on-wet which paint on large surface of paper are wet, but it difficult to dominate/control. But the most common watercolor painting technique is wet-on-dry, which is done by wet brush on dry paper. Watercolor Paints have less hiding power.
Watercolor Painting is done well when you have quality painting material or supplies for your paint work. If you are a beginner than it is more important to you that use right painting material in your work for getting better results because beginner have no experience and more confused that how to prepare for watercolor painting and what material is required for watercolor painting.
1. Watercolor Paints (Water-Based)
Watercolor is available in different categories such as artist watercolors, student watercolors. These paints are come in tubes and pans. Pans are easy to handle and use for small areas, they are cheaper. Tubes paint squeezed on palette, they can apply for large areas. Mostly painters prefer Winsor & Newton watercolor paints. But if you are a beginner than use “Cotman” or “Daniel Smith” watercolor paints. There have more types to do watercolor painting such as watercolor pencils, watercolor crayons. Don’t use opaque paints they can turn watercolor paintings into gouache paintings.
2. Watercolor Paper
Use 140lb cold press watercolor paper for work, Arches provides 20 sheets per block. Arches watercolor paper is reusable and provides best quality; it is the product of five centuries which have experience in making of paper. Aquarelle Arches watercolor paper provides acid-resistant, chlorine resistant, stability. It is made up of 100% cotton fibers which remove stretching. It is long-lasting and yellowing free.
3. Watercolor Brush
Different watercolor brushes varieties are available in market such as sable brush, synthetic brush, flat brush, squirrel brush etc .Use brush at least 8 inches round sable watercolor brush. These brushes are have short handle which provides fine detail and work better to the paper. Synthetic brushes provide better results and better detailed work to the paper/medium. Synthetic brush are expensive than others.
4. Watercolor Board
These boards are used to supporting stretch watercolor paper sheets. This provides better surface where you mount paper for painting. There are many different brands which provide watercolor boards such as Arches Watercolor Art Boards, Guerrilla Painter Watercolor Boards, Fredrix Archival Watercolor Canvas Board etc. These boards are water resistant, durable, acid resistant and available in different sizes.
5. Watercolor Palette
Watercolor Palette is where an artist mix and arrange colors, they are usually made of plastic, ceramic, nylon, wood or other material. Palettes have space for paint and brush. Available in different sizes and in different brands such as Alvin, cheap joe’s, guerilla painter, Martin Universal Design, Robert wood, craftech and tom lynch. Palettes come in different shapes such as flower, rectangular, round and square.
6. Water
Use two glass/jar for holding water, one for rinsing brush between colors and other one for cleaning. If paint is thick then dip brush into the water once more and water to the paint on the paper. Add less water into the paint for getting dry brush look or add more water into the paint if you get more wet flowing look.
7. Colors
Some watercolors which are mostly every beginner or artist prefer such as azo yellow, burnt sienna, burnt umber, cadmium red medium, cadmium yellow light, hooker’s green, payne’s grey, phthalo green, and ultramarine blue. Watercolors drying very fast so test before apply on paper that it is suitable for your work or not. You can get more watercolor ideas from online.
8. Watercolor Pencil
These pencils are used on watercolor technique that is dry-on-dry paper, but they also better for watercolor paper when used with water. These can use for different watercolor techniques such as wet-on-wet paper, dry-on-dry paper but dip pencil in water before apply on paper, dry-on-wet paper, watercolor pencils and crayons combine then use with brush on pigment. Woodless pencils are pigment wrapped in thin binding paper and available in different sets such as 12, 18, 24, 30, 36, and 40. These watercolor pencils are also available in classroom packages which have 12 pencils and each pencil include 8 basic colors.
How to Prepare for Watercolor Painting
9. Masking Fluid
It is a latex-rubber fluid which is used for watercolor paper and also known as liquid frisket. It is used with brush to mask out areas of painting before add any other wash. Add water to masking fluid that it applies easily. But remember masking fluid dry quickly and not easy to remove. When fluid dries, slowly remove it with your hand.
10. Gummed Brown Tape
Gummed Brown Tape is used to prevent watercolor paper from stretching. You can cut four stripes of tape for each side of watercolor paper. Use cool water to soak watercolor paper that couldn’t remove the sizing from paper. Sponge used for making paper smooth.
11. Cleaners
Use warm water not so much but a little bit and dab/swirl brush from your hand until water cleans it. After that use brush cleaner and put it on brush and its bristles than again dab/swirl brush from your hand until cleaner cleans it and finally clean brush with clean water and put it in its right place or in covered palette for long-lasting use.
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