Alisa, yes - I do watercolor painting. Trust me, if I can do it, SO CAN YOU!

The first step is putting your brush in the paint and applying it to paper - it just takes 'messing around' awhile and before you know it, you'll be good at it.

May I suggest you get a child's coloring book from the Dollar Store and just start painting those pictures. This will give you a cheap way to learn to mix colors, hold brushes and use your imagination. Painting is nothing more that using your imagination and developing techniques through PRACTICE, PRACTICE and MORE PRACTICE!

If you have any questions, just ask or email - we will help you! MOST importantly - HAVE FUN!

I just LOVE watercolors. My favorite kind of painting.

I took a class, one of those evening adult education
classes about 15 years ago. I'm not a great drawer! lol
scale gets me. maybe I will try some flowers fields, landscapes... work up to buildings! lol

Thanks for the vote of confidence and enthusiasm, Kay--you're a good cheerleader! My resolution for the new year was to work on FOCUS, structuring my time to work on writing, home improvement (which includes housekeeping), and creative arts such as painting and rug hooking. So far it hasn't worked out very well. LOL

I'll be sure to post when I've made some progress with watercolors, or at least started. Meanwhile, I hope you'll post pictures of some of your work!

I watched Scheewee again about an hour ago. Beautiful
fuschias! Can we take a peek at the video you are ordering?

Even though I'm a professional artist, and my mother was a fine artist, I have only tried watercolors once and that was during last year's Panama Canal cruise. Had fun but way too messy for me. All of my "art" is corporate in nature and done on a computer. Boring, yes. Messy, no. :-)

Jodi-

Jodi, my mother was a painter, too.

Kat, the watercolor book I'm reading now (it's my fifth, I think--I'm experiencing a long "pre-painting" period LOL) demonstrates landscapes and gives a lesson in perspective. The author is Ray Campbell Smith, and the title is The Art of Watercolor. It maybe out of print, but here's a link to his other books.

As for the DVD I ordered, it comes with a book: Watercolor in Motion. I've photographed and exhibited so many closeups of flowers, and I love the idea of recreating some of these as paintings. BUT I also want to paint my daughter's house on the lake. (Don't tell her. LOL)

I too do watercolours. Reading the books will help you down the line. Right now though they have a tendency to keep you from starting. That's normal, as they intimidate. Your work won't look like that. The coloring book suggestion is a good one. Otherwise get some watercolour paper, just practice brush strokes, and color mixing. No need to be timid, you can trash it if you don't like it. Another suggestion, if you don't draw. Online you can print outline drawings and then paint them yourself.

I took a class a couple of years ago. It is not my thing. It is backwards thinking for me. I prefer something like oils or acrylics where I can pile layers of paint on the picture.

I did buy a couple of watercolor paintings a week or so ago. Haven't decided where to hang them yet, but I love them.

Here is a link that might be useful: My new paintings

I can see why you love them, Adella! They're beautiful.

I bought this one on eBay some years ago. I must say it looks a bit more complex in person.

Here's the very FIRST water color I did:

Here's my interpretation of a Conch shell:

That's lovely, Kay. Certainly doesn't look like a first effort!

This is one of my favorite that I've done:

I don't do a great job of drawing, but I try! Here's a Stargazer Lily I did a couple of years ago:

Great job, Kay! The Stargazer Lily is my favorite. (Can you tell I love flowers?)

Here's my attempt at an Iris and a Bluebird:

Here's a fence post in which a Wren has a nest:

My 8-year old Grandson is a surfer, so asked me to 'make' him a picture of a surfer - I'm not AT ALL adept at drawing people, but he liked it!

This is a Parrot I painted - I added colored pencil to this watercolor to brighten the colors a bit, so this is called 'mixed media':

Here is a beach scene, which I saw on the beach, near my house:

I certainly don't consider myself an 'artist', but here's my rendition of my dog, Harley:

PLEASE - post your pictures on this thread if you paint! I love looking at the accomplishments of other people!

VERY, VERY nice, Kayjones!

I especially love the waterlily, fencepost and Harley's pics.

Thank you, Diana. Let's encourage Alisa to pick up a paint brush, because, believe me - if I can do it, ANYONE can! I sure hope others will post their own attempts at watercolor painting!

PBS stations often run instructional painting programs where the artist completes a scene in one sitting. Its usually an outdoor scene with oil on canvas. It makes me want to try it, although the current artist's technique with large brushes amazes me.

Another interesting painting technique, again on PBS stations, is "Painting with Donna Dewberry". She specializes in decorating cups, saucers, plates, and other household items. Her techniique for forming flower petals and leaves requires a deft touch.

Very cool Kayjones!!
This is a birthday card I did for a friend. Loks much better in person though.

Oh, I think it's awesome, Kathy - you did a great job on that horse! Yes, paintings do look better 'in person', LOL.

Here's a "commissioned work". The lady had a large area that was a covered over window. I used a canvas drop cloth and stretched it over styrofoam. That's my horse as a baby looking over the fence and her cat under the birdbath.

I painted this for an auction - "pig in a poke"..you didn't know what you were getting.

I tried watercolors, but prefer acrylics--tole painting, Your paintings are great and congratulations. Another thing, just for fun, go to Hobby Lobby--or on line and get a inexpensive paint by number set. They have water colors, pencil etc.

I need to get back into painting. I forgot how much fun it is. This is my friend's mini horse painted on a cast iron iron!

All these are beautiful, Kathy! Ya, I need to get back to painting, too - haven't painted in a year or more. Once I start a painting, it's nearly impossible to get up and walk away from it - thus, I get nothing else done, and when I finally stand up, I feel like my neck and back are broken and my behind is numb. Time just flies when I am painting!

Has anyone used the site WetCanvas? It has many workshops and weekly options. I work in pastels, but like GW there are dozens of different mediums to interact with the new and experienced. No charge to be a member.

Great respect for watercolor artists...I just couldn't get it.

Here is a link that might be useful: WetCanvas

I just spent an hour there - very helpful and interesting - THANK YOU for giving us a link to a great website. Anyone else have one like this?

Watercolor is my favorite medium. To me they just paint themselves. All these wonderful pictures remind me how much I enjoyed those years of painting pictures of flowers and scenes and crafting cards etc. I'm into quilting now; I love creating beauty with fabrics.

Susan go ahead a jump in. Try wet-on-wet first. Watch how the color spreads out and creates beautiful waves of color. Relax, put on some beautiful music and have fun!

Susan

Jemdandy, funny you should mention Donna Dewberry. The woman is practically a conglomerate! She's really done well with her "One-Stroke" technique. I have some of her brushes and a couple of her books, but never put in the time necessary to master it. I'm a little ambivalent about the look; that could be part of it. I watched her in action for the first time the other night on TV and was impressed, though. Surprised to see her sit down at the sewing machine after painting. I didn't know she was a quilter.

Susan, I'd be a quilter if I hadn't discovered rug hooking. Once I did, I gave up embroidery, needlepoint, and everything else. :-)

I've done some enamel painting on wine glasses

and martini glasses

and assorted glass dishes, etc. Would eventually like to do more decorative painting with acrylics. GW has a nice Decorative Painting forum.

As for watercolors, I'm so well-equipped that I'll feel consumed with guilt if I don't give it a good try. I've been using AC Moore and Michael's coupons to acquire brushes, paints, and paper, plus a professional illustrator recently gave me watercolor brushes and some fabulous French papers. I'm saving the latter until I know what I'm doing. I found some decent 140-lb. watercolor paper at Ollie's Bargains--cheap because it's slightly bent. It'll be perfect for my practice strokes.

This thread has me psyched! It's exciting to see the art and read the encouraging posts. And the Wet Canvas site threatens to completely undermine my already shaky housekeeping.

LOL, Alisa! Now, it's YOUR turn to paint something - even a coloring book page, and POST IT for us to compliment you!!! YOU CAN PAINT!!!!

Alisande, watercolor is a great medium and Wet Canvas does have lots of information and is just a fun website to visit. I have been watercolor painting for about 3 years, it is something I have always wanted to do...I would say practice blending wet into wet, going from dark to light is a good exercise. Once you have that and mixing colors, you should be able to do what you want to do and make art that pleases you. You CAN PAINT! Now, I want to tackle oils...

Hi Rose! Thank you for your optimism. :-)

Have fun with the oils. My cousin, a painter, tells me once I get into watercolor I'll want to paint in oils. I really doubt that's true, though. Watercolor has always appealed to me, and it's not as though I've had a lifelong desire to paint in any medium.

After I posted the picture of the painted glass I remembered that I have quite a few glasses that need to be painted. So that's my project for this afternoon. I may give Donna Dewberry's "one-stroke" method a try. Meanwhile, I'm still fascinated with Wet Canvas. I'm currently going through the Best of 2010.