So I tried to teach myself to paint watercolors 25 years ago, quit, and am trying again. documenting

[GreenPartyVoter]

the journey this time.

Back story is I come from a long line of artists and refused to be a mediocre one. Just would not try at all, so never took Art classes beyond the couple of school required classes. When I finally gave in to the urge to paint, tried first on my own, then with books and long distance encouragement from my parents. Before she taught special education, mom was an art teacher. I regret losing all that time to learn, gathering wisdom from my parents, and the chance to have had studio time with Mom. *sniffling*

1993 attempts:
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10155069192145216&id=621050215

2018 attempts 1 and 2. Definitely like cold pressed better than hot, but flat washes are still kicking my butt! The next pic is the example I was trying to copy. https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10155051112980216&id=621050215

So I thought I would try this video out. Uh, let's just call the back-runs happy accidents, but the overworked areas etc just are what they are. So much to learn about water and pigment control, brush handling, and timing. I will say that I like the effect of the purple stippling in the center flower, and although I am not happy with my leaves, I am pleased that I was able to achieve those colors with pale yellow, sap and dark green, and bright orange. Feeling intimidated by the background she does in the video, but what the heck. Why not try it and see what happens, right?
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10155052696225216&id=621050215

Two attempts to follow along with this video of painting a wee pot of lavender. (Ten minute painting? Um, no. Paused a lot! LOL) First attempt was with a juicier brush on a fresh piece of cold-pressed. Attempt 2 was with a drier brush on the back side of a failed flat wash on hot pressed.
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10155059846790216&id=621050215

Clouds are hard!! And I am finding if I like a painting from up close, it washes out from far away, and ones that look ok from far away look weird up close. The difference between book illustrations and wall art, I guess? https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10155066553495216&id=621050215

More clouds: https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10155068192165216&id=621050215

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. Oil painting is easier. If you screw something up, just let it dry and paint over it.

Since I suck at art I prefer oils. One thing I learned about flat washes is to tilt the paper slightly so the wet paint washes down the page and doesn't pool. Other than that, I find it difficult because it has to be right the first time. Your work looks quite good, though.

[GreenPartyVoter]

2. Thanks! I love the luminous quality of oils, but since I paint in

my dining/living room with cats underfoot, I suspect it could get quite messy!

I've been playing with tilting at various angles. I am also finding cold pressed better for washes than hots, and ditto for staining over sedimentary colors, for now anyway.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

3. I think I've only ever used the cold-pressed paper, but not a really heavy weight

so in the class I took we had to soak and stretch the paper by stapling it to a piece of plywood and letting it dry. It produced a nice texture but it didn't prevent my results from kind of sucking. I did have better results with oils but yes, they are messy, require some clean-up, smell a bit, and won't wash out of your clothes. I also have cats, and they can be a problem sometimes - they're nosy and their fur floats around and sticks to the paint - but I guess we all have to suffer for our art.

[BigmanPigman]

4. When I was in art school I had an assignment to use oils and my roommates had a totally

white cat. While I was at school it had walked on my palette which had fresh cobalt blue on it and apparently it was quite a disaster. Most of it was cleaned up by the time I got home but my roommates had and bathroom were a wreck. They had to wash the cat and we had to get a new shower curtain and a lot more band aides.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

5. Gahh! What a mess!

I have a covered paint box/palette thingy. I don't trust those cats for a minute.

[tikka]

6. Hints

If you want a flat wash over a large area, tilt your paper slightly down at the bottom and have plenty of paint mixed for consistency. Start at the top and go across the area with keeping the leading edge wet. For smaller confined areas, pre-wetting the area (like in the first video) makes getting a consistent wash. Pre-wetting can also work for the bigger washes.

Cumulus clouds can be difficult because they're 3-D with lots of variation. Study clouds. Lots of layers light color in most cases. I've read about using a crushed paper towel to blot out a basic cloud shape from the sky color while it'is still wet.

[angela1991]

7. Nice