Watercolor Gift

This weekend I wrote a seascape painting project - Seascape Layer Cake Recipe to distribute as a free ebook.

(You can read the post at:
http://www.seascapeartist.com/blog/seascape-layer-cake-recipe-free-ebook )

It is a very simple step process that is usually the building blocks of building a seascape painting. Just the words “Seascape Painting”, “Painting Water” can strike terror into the hearts and souls of some artists though.

I’m writing my projects for 4 different types of artists.
1. Artists who have never painted, want to paint and are not sure where to start.
2. Artists who have never painted seascapes and feel intimidated by them because they are “water”.
3. Artists who teach seascape painting and want to give their students painting projects using a variety of painting styles.
4. And last but certainly NOT least, artists who look longingly at paints, brushes and finished artwork and tell the artist, “I could NEVER do that”.

Yes you can if you are brave enough to pick up the brush, dip it into color and put paint on the canvas, paper or digital electrons.

Adapting digital, oil, acrylic, stenciling etc. project steps to painting in watercolors depends a lot on how you paint using watercolors.

1. Read the entire project through completely. If you do not want to write on the original … make a photocopy for your notes (or use post-it note pads).

2. Decide where your process differs adds to or subtracts from the steps … i.e., you use a blow dryer to dry the paint while they are painting on layers that do not touch each other such as my project sheet. Write your notes.

3. Paint a quick sketch project using the steps. [If your sketch project looks great, you have one finished painting from the project right away.]

4. Make sure you have interwoven your process steps into the painting project.

5. Paint the project.

6. Frame / Mat the finished artwork and enjoy it.

No matter what media was used to create a specific painting project … it can be adapted to any other painting medium.

90 lb watercolor paper is just too thin for me to use for much painting … I have a heavy touch with the water many times and I do not strech my paper so for actual painting, I generally use 140 lb cold press watercolor paper .. block or loose sheets in a pad.

BUT … I do keep 90 lb in my studio … for sketching ideas alone or with my grandson. Regular drawing paper has a much different feel with colored pencils and it too is in my studio for when I need that type of paper for a project … but generally, in preparation for painting and generating pre-plannning ideas … actual watercolor paper is better for me … I don’t usually use much if any water on these sketches at all … it is about placement and variety of placement … I save the sketches and some are quite good so I tend to even use them for other collage projects.

I have found that different manufacturers of paper have a different touch and feel to their papers just like different brands of watercolor pencils are a bit different to use. When I plan the placement of a project painting using 90 lb paper, I know in advance that I am not planning to use water on it generally. I like the oclor of wateroclor pencils on watercolor paper usually better than colored pencil on drawing paper too. It reminds me somewhat of pastels … it has a softer more organic feel and look to the sketch where colored pencils appear harsher. Pastels smudge too much for me though I ahve used them a bit … and hte dust from pastels are not good for me - makes me sneeze and feel nauseous if I am around them too much. For me, watercolor pencils dry are a very nice sketching tool … since I like working with color and I cannot find any of the colored charcoal pencils any more … I am quite happy to have discovered a brand of watercolor pencils that work similar to pastels without the dust and simialr to the colored charcoal that I cannot find anywhere these days … I’m not even sure if they still make it - I have not even found them on the Internet!

Using real watercolor paper and pencils in the planning stage for me has an added bonus benefit … if it is good and I like the finished product as is, I have a finished painting that I can mat, frame and hang without worrying about fixatives … I am NOT good at using fixatives … I always get them all over the place and the spray coat is never even so it makes my painting blotchy when I have used them in the past.