I just went and watched a bunch of your "shorts". I've got to say I am commiserating with you. Last July I had what I was told was Sciatica . I taught 2 beginners watercolor classes with a walker and unbelievable pain. Turns out it was spinal fractures and stenosis . Surgery in December. Actually being able to sit at my drafting table and paint happened just about a month ago. I hadn't painted in 9 months. The joy is real but I feel like I'm starting all over. But oh the joy.
Sometimes it's hard to paint when you're human! Thank you for sharing both the errors and how well you fixed them. Viewers are down and so are the RUclipsrs who post. I'm gonna share it so maybe that will help. Love your real time videos.
Your channel deserves much more attention. Thank you! I was struggling with painting a bunch of sci-fi landscapes with dark space as a background, and I almost lost hope to get something decent out of it, until I saw your videos. Your explanation of pitfalls matches my experience completely. Please don't stop making the videos, you have a truly unique content here.
I feel called out in this video lol! I love how you're voicing the thought process because I don't notice how this is happening while Im in the middle of panicking and it helps me to revaluate what I do from an outside perspective. So far, I've found that Synthetic Ox Gall can help with at least keeping the paper wet for longer to make it easier for paint to spread and easier to fix mistakes. It has a side-effect of making paint easier to accidentally lift in my experience, but maybe that's just me and at worst it's just a learning curve worth getting used to for the benefit of better flow. I've also foudn that having a higher paint to water ratio in the brush when going back in helps since the separation of colors can happen due to accidentally adding water, but this ratio takes some getting used to. It's a matter of knowing how wet your paper is, how wet your brush is, how wet your paint is, how much you need on the brush and on the paper and planning around all of that. Bonus points of struggle in needing to figure this out as soon as possible before the paper dries! It can be hard. I'm not saying this is the solution for everyone reading this, I'm just sharing what I've been learning so others can correct me and refine the path of learning. It also doesn't help if the air and climate is extra humid or dry on any given day! Here in Colorado, it's as random as a diceroll of whether you can keep the paper wet or if the paper will dry out fast enough to not cause a blossom with a super staining pigment. That kind of unpredictability can make it harder to learn and adapt technique and I'm sure this can happen in other states and climates too. Painting is hard. If it was easy, it wouldn't be so special.
This is all terrific feedback and I thank you for sharing your tips and experiences. Have you posted videos of your own watercolor process on social media?
I enjoyed listening to you speak on the specifics about finding the right balance between the amount of water, pigment, and temperature of the paper. Looking forward to seeing the finished painting!
Thank you so much for this! Seeing such a talented artist struggle and conquer the pitfalls is refreshing and inspiring. I love your delivery & your work is absolutely amazing!
So much to learn from watching and listening and I'm grateful for every tidbit of expertise you share. Did you enjoy your successful NYC gallery show? Thanks again, Paul!
My drawing hand is a work in progress - still stiff and painful a year later, but I’m glad I’m able to work again, even if I’m slower than before, thank you!
The brand of paper matters Couldn’t find Arches in our little town that was big enough Settled for an unknown brand (Italian?) This paper degrades at the touch of a brush The arches is very forgiving and durable I have a 14x16 painting on my board that has probably too much background ( 6 various sized koi swimming around an offset focal point Want to use Payne’s Grey dark at the white focal disk shading off to the edges leaving the edge white My plan is to add variation in the background with pale washes of pale yellow and turquoise Very nervous about these washes Great tip to paint subjects first Going to hunt down drafting tape My experience with frisket is it tends to be blobby
Oh nooooo relateable xD ❤ sometimes we forget to be aware of everything we're doing. I do this a lot i blame adhd 😅 so frustrating. Stunning work though❤❤❤
Do you have any advice for doing an even wash with detailed edges? I often paint fantasy maps but find it really hard to colour the water evenly because I need to use a small brush to go around the coasts and it starts to dry before I can blend it with the rest of the ocean leaving hard lines.
This is a dilemma, for sure. I think the best thing would be to mask the edges, but this is tricky if the shapes are complex. I usually over-mask complex shapes and then fix up the edges of the background, but it's hard to do this seamlessly,
Thank you so much! And yes, this one is sideways (for everyone, not just you), because RUclips’s vertical video format has a one minute length limit. I hope it didn’t cause a crick in your neck! 🙃
Thank you, @@autumnrain1892! I originally created this video for TikTok, which supports vertical-format videos up to 10 min long, but I had to turn it sideways to post it here, because of RUclips’s 1-minute length limit for vertical videos (shorts). I’m hoping to post more long-format videos here in 2024, and I’ll be sure to film these horizonally 🙂… Meanwhile, thanks for your interest!
The brand of paper matters Couldn’t find Arches in our little town that was big enough Settled for an unknown brand (Italian?) This paper degrades at the touch of a brush The arches is very forgiving and durable I have a 14x16 painting on my board that has probably too much background ( 6 various sized koi swimming around an offset focal point Want to use Payne’s Grey dark at the white focal disk shading off to the edges leaving the edge white My plan is to add variation in the background with pale washes of pale yellow and turquoise Very nervous about these washes Great tip to paint subjects first Going to hunt down drafting tape My experience with frisket is it tends to be blobby
The brand of paper matters Couldn’t find Arches in our little town that was big enough Settled for an unknown brand (Italian?) This paper degrades at the touch of a brush The arches is very forgiving and durable I have a 14x16 painting on my board that has probably too much background ( 6 various sized koi swimming around an offset focal point Want to use Payne’s Grey dark at the white focal disk shading off to the edges leaving the edge white My plan is to add variation in the background with pale washes of pale yellow and turquoise Very nervous about these washes Great tip to paint subjects first Going to hunt down drafting tape My experience with frisket is it tends to be blobby
What a braveheart you are to share such pitfalls with your RUclips audience.
Happy to share… Many thanks for your interest!
I just went and watched a bunch of your "shorts". I've got to say I am commiserating with you. Last July I had what I was told was Sciatica . I taught 2 beginners watercolor classes with a walker and unbelievable pain. Turns out it was spinal fractures and stenosis . Surgery in December. Actually being able to sit at my drafting table and paint happened just about a month ago. I hadn't painted in 9 months. The joy is real but I feel like I'm starting all over. But oh the joy.
I am so very sorry to hear of your painful injuries, and I hope you can continue to make art and experience the joy of doing what you love!
Sometimes it's hard to paint when you're human! Thank you for sharing both the errors and how well you fixed them. Viewers are down and so are the RUclipsrs who post. I'm gonna share it so maybe that will help. Love your real time videos.
Hi Bobbi🌹
How are you doing?
Thank you so much! I guess I’m still adjusting to painting as a human 😅… I’ll get there eventually!
Your channel deserves much more attention. Thank you! I was struggling with painting a bunch of sci-fi landscapes with dark space as a background, and I almost lost hope to get something decent out of it, until I saw your videos. Your explanation of pitfalls matches my experience completely. Please don't stop making the videos, you have a truly unique content here.
Thank you so much!
Thank you for sharing your hard earned lessons with us! 🖼️🎨🥰
Many thanks for you interest!
Thank you for this.....now i see there is hope for a painting without completely overworking the washes....
I feel your pain, these watercolor issues are tricky to deal with. Your art is extraordinary!!!
Thank you so much!
I feel called out in this video lol!
I love how you're voicing the thought process because I don't notice how this is happening while Im in the middle of panicking and it helps me to revaluate what I do from an outside perspective.
So far, I've found that Synthetic Ox Gall can help with at least keeping the paper wet for longer to make it easier for paint to spread and easier to fix mistakes. It has a side-effect of making paint easier to accidentally lift in my experience, but maybe that's just me and at worst it's just a learning curve worth getting used to for the benefit of better flow. I've also foudn that having a higher paint to water ratio in the brush when going back in helps since the separation of colors can happen due to accidentally adding water, but this ratio takes some getting used to. It's a matter of knowing how wet your paper is, how wet your brush is, how wet your paint is, how much you need on the brush and on the paper and planning around all of that. Bonus points of struggle in needing to figure this out as soon as possible before the paper dries! It can be hard. I'm not saying this is the solution for everyone reading this, I'm just sharing what I've been learning so others can correct me and refine the path of learning.
It also doesn't help if the air and climate is extra humid or dry on any given day! Here in Colorado, it's as random as a diceroll of whether you can keep the paper wet or if the paper will dry out fast enough to not cause a blossom with a super staining pigment. That kind of unpredictability can make it harder to learn and adapt technique and I'm sure this can happen in other states and climates too.
Painting is hard. If it was easy, it wouldn't be so special.
This is all terrific feedback and I thank you for sharing your tips and experiences. Have you posted videos of your own watercolor process on social media?
Thanks for keeping it real. It’s great to see someone else going through the same issues as me.
I hope that was helpful, thank you!
I enjoyed listening to you speak on the specifics about finding the right balance between the amount of water, pigment, and temperature of the paper. Looking forward to seeing the finished painting!
Thank you!
Thank you so much for this! Seeing such a talented artist struggle and conquer the pitfalls is refreshing and inspiring. I love your delivery & your work is absolutely amazing!
Many thanks for the feedback and for your interest and enthusiasm!
Thanks, Paul ❤❤❤
Thanks for your interest!
I loved this; we learn from our mistakes and I learned from this video! Love the painting!
Thank you so much!
So much to learn from watching and listening and I'm grateful for every tidbit of expertise you share. Did you enjoy your successful NYC gallery show? Thanks again, Paul!
Yes, the NYC show was great, thank you so much!
Absolutely beautiful. And thanks for sharing your struggles and how you solve them. Thanks
Thank you!
I learn so much from your videos! Thanks so much for sharing your talent and trials in watercolor!
Thank you so much for your interest and feedback!
Absolutely stunning details! Somehow I bet you have an ulcer. I hope not, though! Glad to see your hand is healing. Thanks for sharing! ♥
My drawing hand is a work in progress - still stiff and painful a year later, but I’m glad I’m able to work again, even if I’m slower than before, thank you!
I’d love to see your entire painting process.I just subscribed to your channel and I’m already learning so much ❤
I really enjoyed this. You are really quite funny! I'm hooked, waiting for more! 😊
Thank you! I hope I was unable to work for a bit, but I'm back in the studio and hopefully will be posting more content soon, thanks!
@@watercolorishI'm glad you're back!
i love these videos, and your paintings are stunning!
That's very nice to hear, thank you!!
The brand of paper matters
Couldn’t find Arches in our little town that was big enough
Settled for an unknown brand (Italian?)
This paper degrades at the touch of a brush
The arches is very forgiving and durable
I have a 14x16 painting on my board that has probably too much background ( 6 various sized koi swimming around an offset focal point
Want to use Payne’s Grey dark at the white focal disk shading off to the edges leaving the edge white
My plan is to add variation in the background with pale washes of pale yellow and turquoise
Very nervous about these washes
Great tip to paint subjects first
Going to hunt down drafting tape
My experience with frisket is it tends to be blobby
I enjoyed this tip or should I say lesson learned? What blending brushes do you use? Thank you again for sharing your techniques.
Oh nooooo relateable xD ❤ sometimes we forget to be aware of everything we're doing. I do this a lot i blame adhd 😅 so frustrating. Stunning work though❤❤❤
Thank you so much!
Do you have any advice for doing an even wash with detailed edges? I often paint fantasy maps but find it really hard to colour the water evenly because I need to use a small brush to go around the coasts and it starts to dry before I can blend it with the rest of the ocean leaving hard lines.
This is a dilemma, for sure. I think the best thing would be to mask the edges, but this is tricky if the shapes are complex. I usually over-mask complex shapes and then fix up the edges of the background, but it's hard to do this seamlessly,
@@watercolorish Thanks for the reply! Good to know at least there isn't some simple answer I've been missing all these years 😂
I love your videos. The video is sideways for me though. Anyone else?
Thank you so much! And yes, this one is sideways (for everyone, not just you), because RUclips’s vertical video format has a one minute length limit. I hope it didn’t cause a crick in your neck! 🙃
@@watercolorish oh! You can just put your phone length wise and record that way for your longer videos. I would love to see longer videos from you. 🥰
Thank you, @@autumnrain1892! I originally created this video for TikTok, which supports vertical-format videos up to 10 min long, but I had to turn it sideways to post it here, because of RUclips’s 1-minute length limit for vertical videos (shorts). I’m hoping to post more long-format videos here in 2024, and I’ll be sure to film these horizonally 🙂… Meanwhile, thanks for your interest!
The brand of paper matters
Couldn’t find Arches in our little town that was big enough
Settled for an unknown brand (Italian?)
This paper degrades at the touch of a brush
The arches is very forgiving and durable
I have a 14x16 painting on my board that has probably too much background ( 6 various sized koi swimming around an offset focal point
Want to use Payne’s Grey dark at the white focal disk shading off to the edges leaving the edge white
My plan is to add variation in the background with pale washes of pale yellow and turquoise
Very nervous about these washes
Great tip to paint subjects first
Going to hunt down drafting tape
My experience with frisket is it tends to be blobby
The brand of paper matters
Couldn’t find Arches in our little town that was big enough
Settled for an unknown brand (Italian?)
This paper degrades at the touch of a brush
The arches is very forgiving and durable
I have a 14x16 painting on my board that has probably too much background ( 6 various sized koi swimming around an offset focal point
Want to use Payne’s Grey dark at the white focal disk shading off to the edges leaving the edge white
My plan is to add variation in the background with pale washes of pale yellow and turquoise
Very nervous about these washes
Great tip to paint subjects first
Going to hunt down drafting tape
My experience with frisket is it tends to be blobby