Tools & Materials

To get started painting with watercolor, all you really need are a few supplies: a good brush, several paint colors, a palette, a cup of clean water, and paper. Don't let yourself get caught up in purchasing just the right kind of everything and worrying that what you have is inadequate. More than likely, what you have is enough, and the best thing to do is just sit down and paint!

Watercolor paints are your most important tool. You don't need to purchase an expensive variety, but keep in mind that higher-quality paints can look more vibrant. Student-grade watercolors in a tube work great, as do concentrated liquid watercolors. A good old-fashioned sketch box with pans of paint is also an option. I use all three in my watercolor work.

If you can't afford to invest in a set of all-new paints, purchase a handful of colors that appeal to you. For mixing purposes, it's wise to choose one color from the red family, one from the blue family, and one from the yellow family, as well as a couple of neutrals.

PAINT

PALETTE

Unless you purchase a paint box with a built-in palette, you will need a separate palette to put your paints on, as well as for mixing. There are many palettes to choose from, but a simple option often works just as well as the fancier ones.

BRUSHES

When I first started painting with watercolor, brushes were one of the most mysterious supplies to me. What kinds did I need, and what sizes should they be? What type of fiber did I want, and in what shape? The only way to figure out the style and type of brush you most enjoy working with is through experimentation. Over time, I discovered that I prefer a small, round, size-6 to -8 brush for detail work; a large, round, size-16 brush for loose floral work; and a water brush for lettering. These are my three workhorse brushes, and I've been using a couple of them for more than 20 years.

Buy the best quality you can afford, and keep in mind that synthetic fibers can make great brushes!

PAPER

For the greatest success when working with watercolor paints, purchase watercolor paper. Watercolor paper comes in hot-pressed and cold-pressed varieties and in three standard weights: 90-lb., 140-lb., and 300lb. A good all-purpose paper is 140-lb. cold-pressed paper, which is widely available in many sizes. Rough watercolor paper has plenty of "tooth," or raised areas, which add texture to your art. I also like using a 9" x 12" pad. There's no need to spend a lot to get good paper. Local art-supply and craft stores carry high-quality pads at reasonable prices.

You may also find it useful to keep a sketchbook to paint in. Keeping all your pages in one place is a fun way to see how your art progresses over time.

Watercolor paper These three different sheets show how the paint looks on hot-pressed (A.), cold- pressed (B.), and rough, textured paper (C.).

Other Materials

In addition to paint, brushes, and paper, you may want the following items:

Water cup: I use an old jam jar with a folded paper towel placed underneath on which to dab my brush.

Pencil: Keep it handy for drawing guidelines.

Large tray: This is great for holding your supplies, especially if there's room for your pad of paper too. Then, when you are finished working, you can simply pick up the tray and put it away.

Watercolor Techniques

Learning a few simple watercolor techniques will make painting much more accessible and enjoyable for you! Here are some techniques you may want to use while painting colorful flowers using watercolor.

WASH

This technique is used to cover a large area with flat color. To create a wash, load your brush with a wet consistency of your chosen color, and then drag the side of the brush across the paper.

Add visual interest to a flat wash by dropping in another paint color while the first layer remains wet.

WET-INTO-WET

This technique can be used for all kinds of subjects and lends a spontaneous feel to a painting.

First, create a wet silhouette of the object you wish to paint.

Then load your brush with color, and touch the brush to the outline of the wet area.

For this flower, I also defined its center with a separate touch of color.

DRYBRUSHING

Useful for creating foliage and other accents, the drybrush technique offers you more control over your paint. Simply load your brush with color, and paint directly onto dry paper.

Varying the speed at which you make your brushstrokes can give them a feathery look.

STAMPING

For this method, use your brush or another absorbent material to soak up the paint, and then stamp the shape onto your paper.

Add stems to connect your stamped shapes and create beautiful botanical foliage.

LAYERING

This technique can be used to create depth in a painting and simply means painting a second or third layer of color over a base color. Be sure to let the base color dry fully or the colors will bleed into each other.

Layering works well for adding floral details, such as veins in a leaf or shadows on a petal.

PATTERNS

Another fun way to use your brush: combining its basic marks to create all-over patterns. For these examples, I used the natural shape of my brush to make marks in a sequence and form a patterned effect. Patterns make a lovely element to add into the background of a floral piece.

Techniques are useful and important for learning how to paint, but nothing can replace the simple act of painting itself. Playing with your paints and brushes is the one thing that will help you improve your skills the most. Try to paint a little bit each day, and soon you will notice an improvement. The projects in this book are designed to give you a guided way to practice your painting while simultaneously creating beautiful artwork.

Color Theory Basics

Color is one of my great joys in life. It makes me happy to see a new color scheme, and my heart really starts to beat fast when I add a new paint color to my palette. If you can approach color with a playful, curious, and observant spirit, you will have the most success.

I often choose a color palette based on a combination I've seen, but my favorite combinations come through experimentation. There is just no substitute for practice! And what type of practice is more fun than playing with color?

One way that I play with color is by keeping a color sketchbook. I collect inspiring color combinations from magazines and catalogs, cutting and...