How to start painting with watercolors
A step by step guide for getting started in Watercolor for Beginners
Watercolor painting is an incredibly fun and versatile medium. You can get started with simple shapes and lines, and as you become more advanced, you can create beautiful paintings that truly reflect who you are as an artist. Watercolors are not just for people who want to paint landscapes or flowers; they can be used to create almost any subject matter imaginable — from still lifes to abstracts! Sometimes the most relaxing painting session can be spent by randomly mixing colors on paper to see what happens. Watercolor are magical and will never disappoint you.
- You may really enjoy my Watercolor Group on Facebook to get even more helpful tips.
Watercolors are an amazing medium that can turn any person into an artist!
They’re easy to use, inexpensive and portable. Watercolors also have a long history of being used by beginners because they don’t require any special knowledge or tools to get started.
If you would like to learn from step by step instructions on video, consider taking my Watercolor for Beginners Sketchbook Class. It teaches you everything you need to know about painting with watercolor.
Get a good set of watercolor paints.
- Get a good set of watercolor paints from a good quality watercolor paint company like Schmincke, Sennelier, Daniel Smith, Roman Szmal, Agallo or Windsor Newton. These professional watercolor paints have less fillers and give you more vivid clear color. You won’t use a ton as a little goes a long way so buy tubes on sale or full pans to start from open stock to get started.
- Here’s a great video playlist on watercolor paints that I love and what makes each brand special. With a little research it will help you make a great decision. *
- I’ve also created a Best Materials list for my students that you can use as a reference guide.
Choose your paper wisely.
The next step is choosing the right paper. I recommend using watercolor paper with a rough surface, and not too thin or thick. For best results, use 100% cotton watercolor paper or the best you can afford (Arches : 300 gsm / 140 lb). If you don’t want to spend money on high quality art supplies, try making your own journal with a pad of quality watercolor paper. I shows you how to do that on this video.
Get a good set of brushes.
When you’re starting out with watercolor painting, it’s important to get a good set of brushes. You can use any type of brush that you like, but if you want to get started on the right foot, consider getting synthetic-hair brushes instead of natural-hair ones.
However, there are two different types of synthetic hair: nylon (a stiffer material) and polyester (a softer one). This means that when shopping around for your first set(s), it’s important to find one with a balance between stiffness and softness: too much stiffness might cause unwanted lines or textures; too much softness will make it difficult to control where paint goes while painting. You’ll also want something made with high quality materials so that they don’t fall apart after just one wash!
I’ve talked about my favorite brushes in great detail in this video.
My favourite basic brushes to use are these:
- TINTORETTO retractable Travel brushes made in Italy- Retractable Synthetic Size 8
- Escoda versatile size 10. It’s a round brush that’s semi-firm with long tapered bristles. My favourite brush.
Different watercolor brushes can be used for different things so you will eventually collect many more brushes. If you want to see some different brushes painting flowers and leaves, take a look at this video here.
Use a watercolor palette
- Use a palette with a lid so you paint doesn’t get dusty. It’s fine for watercolor to dry up and crack as it reactivates with water but it’s best kept protected from particles.
- Choose a palette that has a large surface area, so you can mix your colors more easily for washes.
- If possible, get one with a deep well for storing wet paint out of the tube or that has full pans to make accessing your watercolor easy.
- If you need something more portable, I love my travel palette. It hold water, a brush and a decent selection of paint colors. It’s all I really need to paint anywhere. Watercolor Palette by Portable Painter
Start with the basic colors : red, blue and yellow
Primary Colors
The colors you’ll want to start with are red, blue and yellow. These are the primary colors and they make all other colors. You can mix them together in different combinations to make almost any color you need, so start with these three.
Secondary or complementary colors
Complementary colors are pairs of colors that are opposite each other on the color wheel.
If you’re using a palette that has full pans of paint, start by mixing one drop of red and blue into each other to make purple..
Than red and yellow to make orange shades.
Finally yellow and blue to make green shades.
Notice the huge range of colors that can come from just this basic step.
Note that mixing secondary colors together can make your colors muddy or produce a neutral color. More on that later.
Learn how to blend and add different colors to get the look you want.
Once you’ve chosen the colors you want to use, it’s time to start blending them together. Use a brush to blend your watercolors and add different colors together. To do this effectively, dip your brush into clean water and then dab it on a paper towel until most of the excess paint is removed from your brush. Then, begin adding color by painting in thin lines with one color at a time until they blend together on the paper.
When blending large areas of color or using multiple colors at once (such as when painting landscapes), use clean brushes for each new shade so that you don’t contaminate other wells or mixing areas with excess paint from previous wells/mixing areas that may still have some leftover pigment.”
Take a look at this video I created on painting Watercolor washes and backgrounds. It’s a great way to get started.
Start with simple shapes and lines.
- Don’t try to make a masterpiece the first time. It takes time to learn how to paint but it’s fun journey. In my watercolor for beginners class I give you tons of exercises that help you develop your skills and learn about your paints. It’s a really fun way to get started.
- Start with simple shapes and lines. Just get used to your brushes and how the paint reacts to your paper. Try different amounts of color and water until you get the shades and depth of color you desire.
- Don’t be afraid to make mistakes, or even just doodle! It’s all part of the process! Once you feel comfortable with the basics, try doing more complex paintings. Try flowers or trees, landscapes or abstracts. Paint whatever catches your eye!
- I have a section of paint with me videos on my YouTube channel to help you get started. Come paint with me.
Watercolors are a wonderful medium to work with, and they can be used in many different ways. You can use them on paper or canvas, create landscapes or portraits, experiment with abstract designs or traditional landscapes — the possibilities are endless!
If you’re interested in learning how to paint with watercolors for yourself, there are some things you should know before starting out: You’re invited to come take my Watercolor for Beginners Sketchbook Class. It’s online and you can get started right away taking the classes on your own time schedule.
