Part 2:Give Up on Details to Create Watercolor Paintings.
Jim McFarlane approaches watercolor painting with the idea that simplicity is key. In his workshops, McFarlane emphasizes that all remaining values should be reduced to one light, one middle, and one dark, with the white of the watercolor painting paper being used for sunlight, regardless of whether his students are depicting a traditional arrangement or something entirely imaginary. According to him, "linking areas of similar values together in a watercolor painting requires you to use a limited number of values, resulting in larger shapes and sounder compositions."
Because they teach students how to eliminate details and capture large forms and values, these watercolor art sketches can serve as a guide for the final paintings and can help the students relax. McFarlane warned a watercolorist in his class, saying, "You're getting caught up in the minutiae." You seem to be thinking of a tree as you're applying the color. Put set everything aside and fill in the big shape. Whether you can see the tree as a basic shape and place it in the right value relationship in respect to the other elements of the picture is the query.
McFarlane then advises students to condense their picture to no more than three or four value areas. This aids the watercolorist in selecting the painting's focal zone, such as the backdrop, middle ground, or foreground. McFarlane employs a nine-value scale for the last painting stage. Fewer and lighter values are found in the area of the lightest value. The dark value represents all nine values on a scale of one to nine, and the white of the watercolor paper. The middle value reflects a wider and somewhat darker range. This design is particularly helpful for watercolor paintings since it streamlines all the visual elements and lets the artist alter the painting's focus and pattern as needed.Source: Watercolor magazine, Spring 2011.
Part 3: Essentials of Watercolor Painting
Painters who use watercolors want their paintings to have recently applied paint, applied with deft control, and contain enough detail to tell a story without appearing overdone. Here are some watercolor painting tips from the most intelligent and astute watercolor artists in the industry to help you achieve that.Watercolor painter John Falato uses his own workspace as an example to highlight the value of preparation. He arranges two palettes—one for watercolors and the other for gouaches—as well as two sizable water buckets and three cups for combining wash colors.
A different plastic cup contained a variety of brushes, from huge squirrel flats and sable rounds to fluffy mop brushes and stubby bristles. A little sponge, tissues, paper towels, a drawing board with an Arches watercolor paper sheet, and a pump spray bottle were among the additional materials.A brush with spring and one that can hold a lot of paint are what you want when selecting brushes for watercolor painting.The goal of smooth watercolor painting washes is to form a paint bead and try your best to keep it going around objects and across the paper. Make sure the brush you use fits the wash you want to create and is not too big or little.
Working on a wet watercolor painting surface produces soft edges. Once the painting surface has dried, it must be wetted, which can be accomplished using a spray, brush, or sponge. Because a spray bottle doesn't raise the color from underneath, it's frequently the most effective. Reapplying paint with a brush should not involve overworking the edge. After doing it just once, let the area dry. The paint will continue to merge at the edges.
Source:Jim McFarlane.