"The Lord is My Salvation" - Copyright 2006 - Janice Tingum

Have you ever wished that you could paint? I am convinced that anyone can paint! If you have a desire to paint, you can achieve it. Watercolor painting does not require a college degree in art. Nor do you need to be born an artist.

Use watercolor painting to:

• Enhance crafts, scrapbook and stamping projects
• Try a new hobby
• Create original artwork for your home and as gifts
• Decorate greeting cards
• Become a professional artist.

Here are a few tips to get off to a good start.

1. Use good materials.

   Quality supplies will make a huge difference in your results. If you can create a good painting in one of your early efforts, you will be very encouraged to keep at it.

   There are many art instruction books that discuss and compare the variety of papers, paints, brushes and techniques that a watercolor artist can use. This, however, can be overwhelming for the beginning painter. The temptation for the beginner is to start with something cheap for "practicing". What happens, though, is that the beginner gets frustrated with a poor outcome and part of the reason the outcome is poor is that the materials are poor. Don't short-change yourself. Start out with appropriate paper, brushes and paints right away.

2. Try a block of watercolor paper.

   A block of watercolor paper, such as Arches brand, consist of about 20 sheets of paper that are gummed together around the edges. The blocks come in three different surface textures. Cold-pressed paper is the most commonly used. Hot-pressed paper has a smoother texture than cold-pressed. Rough watercolor paper, as its name suggests, has a rougher texture than cold-pressed.

   Paint on the top sheet of paper in the block and then remove it when you are finished to expose the next blank sheet of paper. Watercolor paper is produced in varying weights calculated according to the weight a ream (500 sheets) of that particular paper would weigh. To minimize warping of the paper, choose a paper that is labeled 140 lb. or more.

3. Look for sable in the brushes.

   The best watercolor brushes are made of sable, which is a natural hair. For a less expensive, but still very good option, choose a brush with a mixture of natural and synthetic bristles.

4. Don't skimp on the paint.

   The paint, itself, is the fun part! Choose a quality brand, such as Winsor & Newton's Cotman or Artists' line of paints. Avoid the temptation to buy unusual colors and start with the three primary colors of red, yellow and blue. You'll be amazed at the variety of colors you can create on your own by mixing the three primaries.

5. Watercolor paint goes a long way.

   When you start shopping for quality paints, you might be surprised at how small the tubes of paint are. Remember, though, that you will be mixing small amounts of paint with water. Start out with a portion of paint about the size of an eraser on the end of a pencil.

6. The ability to draw and the ability to paint are two separate things.

   The ability to do one does not guarantee the ability to do the other. Each is a skill that can be developed with practice. To grow as a watercolor artist, you will certainly want to increase your drawing abilities. To start painting, though, you do not need to be an expert at drawing. Trace a photograph for starters. After practicing for a while, you will find yourself drawing more freehand until the images begin to flow straight from your imagination to the paper.

7. Imitation is a great tool for learning.

   For centuries, artists have gone into famous galleries to copy the works of the masters, not to pass them off as their own original works, but for the sole purpose of learning how to paint better. An artist needs to see shapes within an object, color values, shadows, hard and soft edges, perspective, elements of composition and much more. For the beginning painter, this can be overwhelming. If you copy the work of another artist, you will discover that the original artist already made some important decisions about shapes, values, edges, perspective and composition.

Play! Experiment! Have fun!

Watercolor can be very unpredictable and give you surprising results. So, go with the flow. Give yourself permission to loosen up and see what the paint will do!

Janice Tingum - Janice Tingum is an artist and freelance writer. She is the author of The Beginner’s Watercolor eBook: Start Painting Today! To receive the Watercolor & More! free weekly e-newsletter, send an e-mail with the word 'subscribe' in the subject line.   Website: Water Color and More To review the Reprint Rights for this article, please go to the authors page by clicking the button below.