Do You Think Good Basic Watercolor Painting Can Help You Avoid Disappointment And Frustration?

Having been recently criticized for an incredibly simple 2 stage learn how to paint watercolors course, I have to admit that the critic was absolutely correct…

It was aimed at artists who wanted to learn to paint without having to learn to draw first. This meant that although they may not be too good at drawing, they could still get started painting. Painting landscapes, still-life painting, portraits and mechanical objects can come later.

However there are 2 reasons to go right back beyond the basics of painting watercolors…

• It is a great idea to learn to paint before you try to paint a picture
• It is wonderful when things are going badly wrong to return to basics

Some people are lucky. They never struggle to learn to paint watercolor. It is easy for some to pick up a paint box and brushes and paint a good watercolor landscape without difficulty. They are a fortunate minority.

Alternatively, like you and me, most of us aren’t blessed with such talents…

• Learning to paint watercolors is hard
• Painting watercolor pictures can seem impossible

Each and every brush mark can be a nightmare of colors mixing badly and color washes flooding into areas of your painting that you don’t want.

Soon your grand art ideas can be transformed into a horrible muddy mess. You are lost, unless you understand how watercolor paints flow across your paper…

• You need to see how the color moves where the water carries it
• You need to understand that a wash that isn’t fully dry will be wrecked when the next color wash is painted
• You need to know how to get different color intensity and tone from a single color before you try to add another color to the equation

Like the old saying… It is better to learn to walk before you run

It is so easy to become disappointed with your watercolor painting. It is easier still for you to look like you have no artistic ideas and talents. Worst of all you can be made to look like you have no painting skills at all.

Which do you think is better…?

Having a deep knowledge of simple and easy basic watercolor painting or… Disappointment and frustration?

See you soon

Michael

Get The Best From Your Art And Design… Be Prepared To Make Mistakes

As an artist and designer, here is an admission… “I get things wrong all of the time”

When I start to do something I often get it wrong. I make mistakes… Big mistakes.

In Art, only the most expert artists can create perfection…

• What you don’t see in their masterpieces is the planning and preparation sketches that show the mistakes made along the way
• You don’t see the changes of mind and indecision that are covered and hidden by deep layers of paint

In Design, it is the craft development that generates invention from a simple crazy idea…

• You don’t see the years of pain and toil that goes into the design and manufacture of the car you drive
• You don’t see the mistakes and failures that have been made
• It doesn’t matter to you that the car you drive has been crafted and honed from a few simple sketches and a clay model
• You don’t care about the arguments and discussions
• You don’t give a thought to the long hours spent by experts searching for solutions to ever changing safety regulations that protect you in a crash
• You don’t think about the commitment and knowledge that go towards improving engine emissions that try to keep the air you breath clean and clear of pollution

“What you want is a car that looks good, goes fast, and gets you to where you want to go.”

As an artist, it doesn’t matter what intentions you have at the beginning, the end result is often different to what you expect. When the painting masterpiece you planned so carefully turns out to be rubbish… “Is it lost?”

No! The artist inside you sees that the plans were flawed and finds new inspiration from the failure. With your determination, the imperfect artwork develops into a new masterpiece you couldn’t have imagined at the beginning…

“Like a caterpillar transforms into a beautiful butterfly, you create your own form of artistic magic”

Great Art and Design can come from humble beginnings. Great inventions come from silly ideas. The best design can come at strange moments…

• Like when you are lying in a hot relaxing bath
• While sunning yourself on the beach.

You can even be influenced by the way your children play with their toys. Their minds are pure invention and experimentation. Without invention and experimentation…

• Would Galileo have ever thought that mankind could explore the depths of outer space, as he looked through his telescope at the distant stars?
• What would Leonardo Da’ Vinci think, when he drew ideas for flying machines, of the latest triumphs of aircraft design and innovation?
• What would they have both thought about the realities of flying machines and space travel today?
• Could Einstein imagine the full impact of his theories? Could he imagine the extents that incredible computers allow scientists to prove or disprove them?
• Who can imagine the impact of genetics on the future?

Progress comes from everyday people being prepared to act and work through miscalculation and errors…

Look forward to making mistakes...

Be prepared to make plenty of mistakes. There is far more to be learned from making a mistake. You can’t get everything right with everything you do but you can learn plenty when things go wrong...

• If you want to learn to paint, look forward to making as many unpleasant marks as you can
• If you are an artist who has lost inspiration… go back to basics and rediscover the magic of letting unexpected paint splatter and splodges revitalize your artwork
• If your drawing has become mechanical and dead… lose control of your line work… scribble, scratch and doodle until your drawing finds new life
• As a designer working on computers, let your mind release itself and go wild and free… design the largest hotel in the middle of the desert… with a pencil or a pen and some paper.

See what your imagination brings when you let yourself go…

• Your drawing will get better
• Your painting will improve
• Your use of color will create life
• Your designs will inspire

You will be inspired and inventive… “Look forward to making mistakes”

“Learn How To Paint Watercolors Fast… Use Only 1 Color”

Learning to paint fast is difficult. Some say it feels impossible…

But it doesn’t have to be so hard...

Like all skills, whether in Arts, Crafts or any profession the trick is to remove complication. Watch any expert work and you will be amazed how quickly they make the impossible seem easy…

Think of a Blacksmith making horseshoes on his anvil…

• He knows how to make the fire hot enough to make the metal soft without melting
• He knows that every strike of his hammer will shape and mould the steel
• He knows just how to trim the hoof to make the shoe fit
• He never doubts his ability to give the horse he makes the shoes for exactly what is needed for comfort and wear

It is an honor to see a craftsman at work. It is a privilege to witness the accumulation of many years hands-on knowledge. Learning to be an artist takes time. Learning to paint professionally can take many years...

The fastest way to learn to paint watercolors is to take it in small stages… starting simple and building painting skills with small steps.

The first step is to paint watercolor using 1 color… it can’t get any simpler…

• You learn how to thin watercolor paint with your brush
• You learn how much water you need to get a certain tone of color
• You learn how to use water to carry color pigment across your watercolor paper
• You learn what can go wrong when you touch your wet paper with a brush full of color
• You learn to expect surprises
• You learn to want to encourage surprises by experimenting with new techniques

And, most importantly, you get the opportunity to learn to draw with your watercolor brush…

You learn how to make your brush become your best friend.

When you use only 1 color to learn how to paint watercolors it is easy to concentrate…

• You can quickly learn how to get color tone right
• You soon learn that color will flood and spread across wet paper
• You know that if an earlier wash is fully dry it will be spoiled if you let your next brush mark touch
• You find yourself doing amazing things with watercolors fast because you don’t have to worry about which colors you need to mix that favorite green, or the orange you saw in last night’s sunset.

Learning how to paint watercolors using only 1 color helps you learn fast because you don’t even need to worry about making mistakes…

• It is quick and easy to do it again because you have kept it simple
• You have perfected the basics of learning watercolor painting

Perfect the basics of watercolor painting and nothing can stop you from mastering the next stage... Learning How To Mix Colors.

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