One of the best things I learned from one of my instructors was to have a dish of water for cleaning your brush, and another dish of water to add to the paint only. Keeps my paints so clean now :)
kleesin I keep a jar with a water dropper and use that to add clean water it helps me resist the urge to use clean water for my brush when the other water container gets too dirty
I certainly have bright green colors in all my flowers I grow, and in the mountains of Colorado, the colors are bright. If I'm painting sage brush I use your tip.
If you spend a few years trying to capture TRUE color and compare it to the colors around your landscape you will find more sophisticated and beautiful colors in nature than what comes out of a tube. It take a lot of work to really SEE color,but it's worth it. I'm telling you from experience, I painted with a fabulous instructor for 4 yrs,three to five hors a day, six days a week. His mantra was observe and compare. Two years into this routine my eyes truly opened up and i saw color for the first time,really saw it,it is far richer and like Angela says,more complex,than what you are calling "bright green colors".
The video re painting across properly will help me make a real difference to my paintings. I am not a "new" painter but because I taught myself from books mainly plus a few workshops, so I really find your videos extremely. helpful. Thank you. Mary from Toronto.
This whole time I've been trying to find out what to do to work with water colour and I have only gotten a few new tips. I now realize that I actually needed to know what NOT to do. Thank you so much!
Interesting video...I'm taking a watercolor class from a local teacher - and it's been very insightful. What I'm learning is that it's good to see varying techniques from a variety of People helps not be so stringent to Dos and Dont's and still do what looks attractive. I personally Like the way "Blooms" can create a certain look. One of the things this teacher did point out - is being aware of how Temperatures and humidity can affect how your painting is turning out - drying times, etc. Just saying...for anyone reading. :-)
I'm so happy to have seen this video! I'm stumbling around trying to learn, and trying to NOT just watch videos, but actually put paint to paper ... and in the process, I'm doing ALL of these things. I didn't know how to NOT do them! I think I'll be watching this video several more times. Thank you so much!
This is great info.! Nice clear presentation. I particularly see the "phony color" mistake in greens a lot. I prefer mixing greens most times to add life because there is so much of it used in landscapes it becomes dead looking straight out of the tube.
Thanks Angela. I noted in watching another of your videos that you use 2 water bowls when you paint - one with clean water to wet the brush before putting it in your next color. I think that will help me with my aversion to the dirty water.
Some real great tips for beginners here! about the leaf outline, I agree not to outline the leaf, but if you do it can easily be washed out again if you know how but again, this is for beginners. Love your paintings!
Hi Angela, I just finished looking through the comments, some very good questions. I fell in love with watercolor...at a time when I didn't have the time and energy at the same time to work on classes etc. However I was so enamored that I studied technique on my own (library, read a lot, practiced technique, and collected the professional materials required ) Enough about my journey. The question came up about wet paper buckling. I tried everything that was suggested. I tape (if I'm using 140 pound paper ) to a board with three quarter inch masking tape about one fourth in on to the paper, when it's wet and I'm finished for the period, I use a hair dryer in a circular motion or back and forth, just keep it moving and it will dry the paper and will be tight and flat ready for the next step. I tried all the other methods but this is the sure fire way to make it happen. And of course after you've stretched your paper and dried it before the initial beginning of the painting. Hope you don't mind my input. I love to paint watercolor however got talked into trying acrylics and am enjoying them too..I'm the sort that has the need to know how it all works from the basics so one has what's necessary to build on and have a successful painting. Your video was of course helpful and reassuring as I really don't let my water and brushes get very discolored..I now teach art and participants want to know how come my brushes look like new.. well I can tell you this, they just want to paint and for the most part aren't willing to go that extra mile and the end result is they continue to purchase more materials...and ruin their brushes that could last for years..Thank you for sharing.
I live in the Pacific Northwest and I love living here. I'm glad you had the opportunity to experience it for yourself. :) The colors around me never get old.
Nice info! For those of you who would like to know what the tips are and the location, here you go: 1:34 - Don’t work with a dry brush - it sponges up the paint 2:49 - Avoid outlining (like a coloring book) This leaves hard dry edges, which you generally want to avoid 5:20 - Don't work too dry - leaves hard edges 7:10 - Don’t add color to damp paper - will make blooms 8:48 - Avoid puddles - dilutes the paint 9:38 - Don’t use color right from the tube for nature - always mix (usually tone it down with burnt umber)
+johngo6283 Well, this is the first tutorial I've seen, and I bought a watercolour kit from costco (so don't know what quality that will be!) but I found it very helpful to actually see what happens when to do or don't do these things, rather than just a list of dos and donts. This artist obviously is very clever and I appreciate the time in watching her informative ideas :)
@johngo>>>Kindly leave the link for the tutorial that you've taken the time to make and upload, so that we can see how it's done properly! You sir, are an ass!
thank you for a very useful refresher. I haven't painted with watercolor for a while and I don't want to have to go through all my trial and error learning again. And in Maryland our greens need to be tempered with burnt umber or even a touch of violet in the shadow areas. And although you can find some economical alternatives with paint supplies, for me watercolor paper is the one thing you can't get on the cheap. Although you can be smart with coupons.
Enjoyed this Love that you're also a leftie. I read through the other comments. I agree that most of these "mistakes" could have a place in one's art. But as an untrained beginner they are frustrating to get rid of if its not the point one was trying to make. One of my happy accidents was my 1st tree, too dry brush gave me a wonderful bark look but nearly ruined my leaves.
Hello Angela, Thank you for your very informative and helpful videos. I agree with you when you say to buy decent materials, paints, watercolour paper etc. Buy the best you can afford. I understand it is not always possible for some. However students may discover they have a hidden talent. If they have used very cheap materials, they may be disappointed. Good luck to you all. Ann in South Australia.
Though these are great tips and things to be aware of, I think every one of these can be brought back by artists who have learned how to control them (but not too much. I really do believe part of what makes watercolor beautiful is letting it do what it wants to). For example I use pure colors in my snake and lizard paintings because you can always go in and dull down colors but once you have over mixed you can't brighten up watercolor. I also use blooming for my rock backgrounds. But again I absolutely agree that one should be aware so that they aren't doing these things on accident.
Just attended my first water color class, I did everything you just said not to do. So for next class I will have pa id attention to these facts. Thanks
Thank You! This tutorial is very helpful! I used up ALL of my watercolor paper before watching this and I'm thankful I watched this because I recently got a B- in Art. Next week, we're doing it on canvas!
Thank you so much,these tips were extremely helpful. Im an oil painter and just recently discovered watercolors and this is the best instructional video I've come across so far.
Out of habit when I paint with watercolor I usually go in with a dryer brush onto the canvas and then add water to the brush and go then to the paint immediately and spread it with the water filled brush but honestly its a bloody waste of paint because it will dry on your pallet. This has helped tremendously thank you!
I love your tutorials!! Thank you so much!! I was wondering the kind of brushes you use because I've tried several brands with frustrating results. The round brush that you were using seems to be what I am aiming for, but so far no joy. What would be a good brand to start with or a go to round brush, such as yours? Thank you so much!! I am disabled and I love art. I was extremely lucky when I was in college, and had a terrific teacher. Art was not my major, but I thought I would take the class and enjoyed it, beyond belief. That was over 25 years ago. I appreciate your help, to the moon and back. Thank you, Bridgette
Hi Angela! Love your videos on watercolor. May I request for you to make one on how you prepare your paint/colors on your palette? Like, how much water you mix in and how you mix two colors. thanks!
Hey Angela water color is a whole new medium for me! I used to work with Pencil and do hyper realistic fan drawings for popular games. I've been fascinated by water color subject in my freshman art. I picked up a Cray-Z-Art Paint and Brushes with some authentic water color paper from Walmart (I'm only in highschool). Thing is that it SOOOOO challenging because I'm water color you need to work backward and master outline and shade techniques. I was hoping you could do a video on how to do landscapes and get the lighting right.
Thank you so much I’m a beginner and I get so upset cause I really want to do better and I came upon you and the tips was what I needed ❤bless thank you
Awesome video - I have to try your method for painting around edges. I usually paint around contours vary vary quickly so that I can move outward before it dries. However I do not have time for precision
This was really helpful. Thanks for sharing these tips. I was doing a lot of these "what not to do" things and couldn't figure out what was wrong. This gave me a lot of direction.
My first watercolor teacher taught us to buy wonderful Arches paper and W & N professional paints. You never know when you're going to get a result you really like. And working with great materials feels so good. I agree with those who say, unless you are really strapped for money, buy the good stuff and enjoy. It isn't a waste. (I have bought inexpensive pads just for sketching and messing around.)
+AntiFormKeyblade, If you are a very beginner, I would say take these 4 as primaries (not a hard and fast rule, it's my personal choice): Quinacridone red (or magenta), Phthalo/Ultramarine blue (cheaper than Cobalt blue), Cadmium yellow, Phthalo green (because, mixing yellow with blue results in a dull green). If you know about color wheel, I would say, "Get multiple (needn't be 3 or 4) single-pigment light-fast colors, which are evenly distributed and close to the periphery of the color wheel" -- those set of colors form good primaries. The reason is this: the result of mixing lies somewhere inside the polygon formed by joining the colors on the color wheel (it will lie approximately in their centre of "gravity"). So, if you have 3 primary colors, you can mix all possible colors inside that triangle (artists chose 3 convenient & easily available colors because 3 is the minimum to make a polygon). If you have more saturated colors (colors more towards periphery), or have more than 3 primaries -- then you will, in fact, have more possible mixtures. (Now, don't take this as hard & fast rule, as there may be other factors as well). A cheap black -- burnt sienna/ umber + any dark blue or green (better avoid light colors like yellow in this mixture if you want black). Handprint.com shows a color wheel: www.handprint.com/HP/WCL/cwheel06.html (See why blue + yellow doesn't give a bright green)
Thanks for the great tips. I have been guilty of a few to be honest. I had a little trouble reading the scrolling white text - perhaps black would be a better option in the future?
I came across your video the6 mistakes beginners make.I am so inspired! I have been dabbling,for a while.My problem being,fear to use my good paper,for my watercolors.I noticed you don't have pencil,lines in your work,very brave!I wonder what you think about using,paint pads's,or,multi media pads.Thanks again
I'm so glad you made this video. I'm new to watercolor and need all the help I can get. You offered some wonderful tools for me to add to my tool box. Thanks for thinking about the Rookies out here.
I keep on ending up with 'cauliflowers' and couldn't work out why. Now I know, adding wet paint on top of damp. Thank you soo much. No more cauli's for me hopefully.
I'm still new to watercolours and I'm having a bit of a problem. My paint always ends up drying too dull & I have to apply multiple washes before the paint looks vibrant enough for me to start adding shadows. Why? Is it the paints I'm using? (Daler Rowney Simply brand) They're a student grade, pretty cheap paints. And they always end up drying way too fast, too. What am I doing wrong? (The paper I use is 140 pound cold press Canson brand.)
***** Thanks! :) I've been thinking of switching to Winsor and Newton Cotman brand for now. (I hear they're a good 'middle ground' paint. And maybe later I'll get something like M Graham.) As for paper I've been considering Arches. Thanks so much! ^^
Ue better quality paints. Squeeze them to your palate. Let it dry. Use the colors without mixing. Layer until desired darkness. I primarily paint with bright colors. My website is my name. You can see what I mean or message me and I can try to create tutorial on this...
Is there any substitute for corn starch? Can I use flour? P.s This is brilliant, my boyfriend's granny is an artist but she is now allergic to watercolour. I'm thinking about making these for her.
Great video! About "blooms" -- they look so interesting in themselves, but wrong for the painting as a whole. When is the right time to use them? Could I see any work with deliberate "blooms" -- I have a feeling this can create a very powerful effect when it is appropriate.
By the way, I noticed some comment that I found rude to you. If they are able to critique you, why are they watching the tutorial??? So for the rude people, watercolor on your own!!!😠
Thank you Angela. This is a really handy tutorial. I got blooms in a painting today from overworking the sky. Once they are dry, IS there anything you can do to soften them with glazing or anything? (Very much a beginner, but I have really good quality paint and paper.)
I don't have too much money to buy professional artist quality materials, but you say in many video's less quality material is better than more sub par material. I was thinking to get a very basic pallete of professional quality Windsor and newton watercolor, but just 3 tubes runs me about 50 dollars. I figure then, I could get all three primary colors, maybe a pale cadmium yellow, quinacridone red, and an Antwerp blue. I know you can mix greens from blue and yellow, purples from blue and red, and oranges from red and yellow. From your video's I know I can mix the complimentaries to create grays browns and blacks, so I assume I could mix matching purples to go with yellows, greens to go with reds, and oranges to go with blues and create these neutrals. But.... assuming isn't knowing. Do you think it would be okay to start with just these three colors, and would it be enough to actually do all those things? I suppose it's a little extra work mixing all the secondaries but I don't mind. Thank you so much! Your video's have helped me immensely.
***** Maimeri makes a student grade paint that is really superior and I find you also get more for your money amount wise than cotman paints. Also American Journey professional grade paints are quite reasonable. You can get them at Cheap Joes online
Erinne Kennedy-Dock I agree! I have been using Maimeri for a while now. I started with the oils and only actually fell in love with watercolour because of their paint. Even the student range is of great quality. I live in South Africa and Cotman's (anything W&N related) is so expensive, that I wouldn't be able to buy anything. Thanks for the demo's by the way, Angela. I think you are doing a great job with them.
On you comment of how nature isn't that green... Not sure where you live but here in Iowa the greens are so bright, so strong here in summer they almost hurt they eye. A field of young corn is intensely green. So too are some garden plants and flowers. otherwise I really enjoyed your video.
you are correct Angela but people with little experience have more opinions than knowledge . I think you now this but are too polite to say. Your videos are terrific. I bought a demo of yours years ago. It was a portrait. Somehow I lost it on the computer but it was fabulous. @@angelfehr
I live in a desert area and pure color is way too intense. I appreciate the tip, because I sit there wondering what color will mix in, not muddy, but look more real.
the angle of the camera is a little dizzying, although it wouldn't be if the video were flipped upside down because it would feel like i was sitting across from you. or you could pull the camera down closer to your body facing forward so we are looking from your perspective.
How do i get bright ideas of what to paint? Like whenever i start to paint i end up thinking of ideas that just dont come in my mind! I have painted a few good things before like landscape nature and some other things now i am out of ideas!
I don't know what nature you're looking at, but where i'm from green is freaking bright and vivid, not muted. Sure, it gets muted with season passing and droughts, but those 5-6 months of spring-summer make plants look very intense, moreover since so many plants have that shine tot heir leaves, which further helps with brightness you get quite intense colours. Also, one absolutely does not need to buy expensive supplies to be a good artist. On the contrary, if you rely so much on the quality of your supplies, then you probably do not have enough mastery over your art. And every single one of your "mistakes" could not only be intentional thus not a mistake, but it could yield beautiful results! I will leave you with the words of a true artist and mentor "We don't make mistakes. We just have happy accidents."
What do you think of water brushes? I really appreciate your pointers. I am new to water colors but I really hate having a cup of dirty water to rinse my brush in.
Great tips though I have to ask, the colors in nature aren’t bright to you? The colors to me are incredibly vibrant so i was a little thrown off by that
HI Angela, What is the brand of the palette you are using? I like how you have several wells. All my palette's have a big open space which gets tricky to clean.
Stupid question. Is there a point to the rough cut edge on loose watercolor paper? I always use a rotary cutter to get rid of them before I stack them up and rubber cement the edges to make a block.
It's so good to find a left handed painter to watch and learn from. Especially someone who wants to help beginners, thank you so much!
One of the best things I learned from one of my instructors was to have a dish of water for cleaning your brush, and another dish of water to add to the paint only. Keeps my paints so clean now :)
kleesin I keep a jar with a water dropper
and use that to add clean water it helps me resist the urge to use clean water for my brush when the other water container gets too dirty
:)
I certainly have bright green colors in all my flowers I grow, and in the mountains of Colorado, the colors are bright. If I'm painting sage brush I use your tip.
If you spend a few years trying to capture TRUE color and compare it to the colors around your landscape you will find more sophisticated and beautiful colors in nature than what comes out of a tube. It take a lot of work to really SEE color,but it's worth it. I'm telling you from experience, I painted with a fabulous instructor for 4 yrs,three to five hors a day, six days a week. His mantra was observe and compare. Two years into this routine my eyes truly opened up and i saw color for the first time,really saw it,it is far richer and like Angela says,more complex,than what you are calling "bright green colors".
wrong
The video re painting across properly will help me make a real difference to my paintings. I am not a "new" painter but because I taught myself from books mainly plus a few workshops, so I really find your videos extremely. helpful. Thank you. Mary from Toronto.
This whole time I've been trying to find out what to do to work with water colour and I have only gotten a few new tips. I now realize that I actually needed to know what NOT to do. Thank you so much!
Interesting video...I'm taking a watercolor class from a local teacher - and it's been very insightful. What I'm learning is that it's good to see varying techniques from a variety of People helps not be so stringent to Dos and Dont's and still do what looks attractive. I personally Like the way "Blooms" can create a certain look.
One of the things this teacher did point out - is being aware of how Temperatures and humidity can affect how your painting is turning out - drying times, etc. Just saying...for anyone reading. :-)
I'm so happy to have seen this video! I'm stumbling around trying to learn, and trying to NOT just watch videos, but actually put paint to paper ... and in the process, I'm doing ALL of these things. I didn't know how to NOT do them! I think I'll be watching this video several more times. Thank you so much!
This is great info.! Nice clear presentation. I particularly see the "phony color" mistake in greens a lot. I prefer mixing greens most times to add life because there is so much of it used in landscapes it becomes dead looking straight out of the tube.
I'm glad to see another left-handed artist!
Thanks Angela. I noted in watching another of your videos that you use 2 water bowls when you paint - one with clean water to wet the brush before putting it in your next color. I think that will help me with my aversion to the dirty water.
Some real great tips for beginners here! about the leaf outline, I agree not to outline the leaf, but if you do it can easily be washed out again if you know how but again, this is for beginners. Love your paintings!
Hi Angela, I just finished looking through the comments, some very good questions. I fell in love with watercolor...at a time when I didn't have the time and energy at the same time to work on classes etc. However I was so enamored that I studied technique on my own (library, read a lot, practiced technique, and collected the professional materials required ) Enough about my journey. The question came up about wet paper buckling. I tried everything that was suggested. I tape (if I'm using 140 pound paper ) to a board with three quarter inch masking tape about one fourth in on to the paper, when it's wet and I'm finished for the period, I use a hair dryer in a circular motion or back and forth, just keep it moving and it will dry the paper and will be tight and flat ready for the next step. I tried all the other methods but this is the sure fire way to make it happen. And of course after you've stretched your paper and dried it before the initial beginning of the painting. Hope you don't mind my input. I love to paint watercolor however got talked into trying acrylics and am enjoying them too..I'm the sort that has the need to know how it all works from the basics so one has what's necessary to build on and have a successful painting. Your video was of course helpful and reassuring as I really don't let my water and brushes get very discolored..I now teach art and participants want to know how come my brushes look like new.. well I can tell you this, they just want to paint and for the most part aren't willing to go that extra mile and the end result is they continue to purchase more materials...and ruin their brushes that could last for years..Thank you for sharing.
I live in Chicago. I recently traveled to Seaside, Oregon in the spring. There I saw greens so bright; I never knew that these existed in nature.
I live in the Pacific Northwest and I love living here. I'm glad you had the opportunity to experience it for yourself. :) The colors around me never get old.
Nice info!
For those of you who would like to know what the tips are and the location, here you go:
1:34 - Don’t work with a dry brush - it sponges up the paint
2:49 - Avoid outlining (like a coloring book) This leaves hard dry edges, which you generally want to avoid
5:20 - Don't work too dry - leaves hard edges
7:10 - Don’t add color to damp paper - will make blooms
8:48 - Avoid puddles - dilutes the paint
9:38 - Don’t use color right from the tube for nature - always mix (usually tone it down with burnt umber)
+johngo6283 Well, this is the first tutorial I've seen, and I bought a watercolour kit from costco (so don't know what quality that will be!) but I found it very helpful to actually see what happens when to do or don't do these things, rather than just a list of dos and donts. This artist obviously is very clever and I appreciate the time in watching her informative ideas :)
@johngo>>>Kindly leave the link for the tutorial that you've taken the time to make and upload, so that we can see how it's done properly! You sir, are an ass!
Great comments on avoiding a contour line!
Thank you, Angela Fehr. Your video is very helpful to me.
i paint because i love it
mistakes are encouraged
the best painters make the most mistakes
cool tips!
thank you for a very useful refresher. I haven't painted with watercolor for a while and I don't want to have to go through all my trial and error learning again. And in Maryland our greens need to be tempered with burnt umber or even a touch of violet in the shadow areas. And although you can find some economical alternatives with paint supplies, for me watercolor paper is the one thing you can't get on the cheap. Although you can be smart with coupons.
Enjoyed this Love that you're also a leftie. I read through the other comments. I agree that most of these "mistakes" could have a place in one's art. But as an untrained beginner they are frustrating to get rid of if its not the point one was trying to make. One of my happy accidents was my 1st tree, too dry brush gave me a wonderful bark look but nearly ruined my leaves.
Hello Angela, Thank you for your very informative and helpful videos. I agree with you when you say to buy decent materials, paints, watercolour paper etc. Buy the best you can afford. I understand it is not always possible for some. However students may discover they have a hidden talent. If they have used very cheap materials, they may be disappointed. Good luck to you all. Ann in South Australia.
Actually I think all of these mistakes (as you call them) can make beautiful, interesting paintings with special effects.
+Liberty Aragon I've seen beautiful effects too. ("'Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.")
And she says this throughout the video - that if that is the look you are going for, that's fine, but in general these are things to avoid.
Though these are great tips and things to be aware of, I think every one of these can be brought back by artists who have learned how to control them (but not too much. I really do believe part of what makes watercolor beautiful is letting it do what it wants to). For example I use pure colors in my snake and lizard paintings because you can always go in and dull down colors but once you have over mixed you can't brighten up watercolor. I also use blooming for my rock backgrounds. But again I absolutely agree that one should be aware so that they aren't doing these things on accident.
Thank you! Toning down my greens to make them look more natural is exactly what my paintings need!
Thank you for showing these 5 mistakes, and for all the help you've given. I'm just starting and your tips are invaluable.
Just attended my first water color class, I did everything you just said not to do. So for next class I will have pa id attention to these facts. Thanks
You are a great Instructor; clear and concise and you show us simple solutions. I hope you will do more beginner paint alongs, in the future.
been doing painting for three years ,but some of those tips i seem to slip out from my mind . thankyou for showing
Thank You! This tutorial is very helpful! I used up ALL of my watercolor paper before watching this and I'm thankful I watched this because I recently got a B- in Art. Next week, we're doing it on canvas!
Thank you so much,these tips were extremely helpful. Im an oil painter and just recently discovered watercolors and this is the best instructional video I've come across so far.
Out of habit when I paint with watercolor I usually go in with a dryer brush onto the canvas and then add water to the brush and go then to the paint immediately and spread it with the water filled brush but honestly its a bloody waste of paint because it will dry on your pallet. This has helped tremendously thank you!
I love your tutorials!! Thank you so much!! I was wondering the kind of brushes you use because I've tried several brands with frustrating results. The round brush that you were using seems to be what I am aiming for, but so far no joy. What would be a good brand to start with or a go to round brush, such as yours? Thank you so much!! I am disabled and I love art. I was extremely lucky when I was in college, and had a terrific teacher. Art was not my major, but I thought I would take the class and enjoyed it, beyond belief. That was over 25 years ago. I appreciate your help, to the moon and back. Thank you, Bridgette
actually I really like the bloom effect
and also the dry brush effect for structure
I think it depends on what you want to draw
Hi Angela! Love your videos on watercolor. May I request for you to make one on how you prepare your paint/colors on your palette? Like, how much water you mix in and how you mix two colors. thanks!
Great information for new painters Angela! :) I teach Watercolor and Alcohol Ink classes and you hit the nail on the head.
Very helpful instructions Angela. Thanks for sharing this.
Hey Angela water color is a whole new medium for me! I used to work with Pencil and do hyper realistic fan drawings for popular games.
I've been fascinated by water color subject in my freshman art. I picked up a Cray-Z-Art Paint and Brushes with some authentic water color paper from Walmart (I'm only in highschool).
Thing is that it SOOOOO challenging because I'm water color you need to work backward and master outline and shade techniques. I was hoping you could do a video on how to do landscapes and get the lighting right.
Thank you so much I’m a beginner and I get so upset cause I really want to do better and I came upon you and the tips was what I needed ❤bless thank you
This is SO helpful. Thank you for sharing these tips.
me and my friend are 14 and incredibly artistic and this really helped both of us!
Awesome video - I have to try your method for painting around edges. I usually paint around contours vary vary quickly so that I can move outward before it dries. However I do not have time for precision
Love it 😀
This was really helpful. Thanks for sharing these tips. I was doing a lot of these "what not to do" things and couldn't figure out what was wrong. This gave me a lot of direction.
Thank-you, Angela. These were great tips for an insecure painter like me!
My first watercolor teacher taught us to buy wonderful Arches paper and W & N professional paints. You never know when you're going to get a result you really like. And working with great materials feels so good. I agree with those who say, unless you are really strapped for money, buy the good stuff and enjoy. It isn't a waste. (I have bought inexpensive pads just for sketching and messing around.)
+AntiFormKeyblade, If you are a very beginner, I would say take these 4 as primaries (not a hard and fast rule, it's my personal choice): Quinacridone red (or magenta), Phthalo/Ultramarine blue (cheaper than Cobalt blue), Cadmium yellow, Phthalo green (because, mixing yellow with blue results in a dull green). If you know about color wheel, I would say, "Get multiple (needn't be 3 or 4) single-pigment light-fast colors, which are evenly distributed and close to the periphery of the color wheel" -- those set of colors form good primaries. The reason is this: the result of mixing lies somewhere inside the polygon formed by joining the colors on the color wheel (it will lie approximately in their centre of "gravity"). So, if you have 3 primary colors, you can mix all possible colors inside that triangle (artists chose 3 convenient & easily available colors because 3 is the minimum to make a polygon). If you have more saturated colors (colors more towards periphery), or have more than 3 primaries -- then you will, in fact, have more possible mixtures. (Now, don't take this as hard & fast rule, as there may be other factors as well). A cheap black -- burnt sienna/ umber + any dark blue or green (better avoid light colors like yellow in this mixture if you want black). Handprint.com shows a color wheel: www.handprint.com/HP/WCL/cwheel06.html (See why blue + yellow doesn't give a bright green)
Thanks for the great tips. I have been guilty of a few to be honest. I had a little trouble reading the scrolling white text - perhaps black would be a better option in the future?
Love that sunflower.
I came across your video the6 mistakes beginners make.I am so inspired! I have been dabbling,for a while.My problem being,fear to use my good paper,for my watercolors.I noticed you don't have pencil,lines in your work,very brave!I wonder what you think about using,paint pads's,or,multi media pads.Thanks again
I'm so glad you made this video. I'm new to watercolor and need all the help I can get. You offered some wonderful tools for me to add to my tool box. Thanks for thinking about the Rookies out here.
I just wanted to say thanks for posting this!! extremely helpful!
Thanks! Sound like many of the things I do that ruin my paintings, now will keep an eye indeed :)
wonderful sunflower. thank you so much for posting.
i do all this mistakes , so thank you very much, now i know !
your video was helpfull and it was even better cause youre a lefty being one my self it just makes more since
I keep on ending up with 'cauliflowers' and couldn't work out why. Now I know, adding wet paint on top of damp. Thank you soo much. No more cauli's for me hopefully.
After seeing this vid I realize I actually made a lot more mistakes than only 6, hahaha.. thank you so much for the great tips, Angela!
I'm still new to watercolours and I'm having a bit of a problem. My paint always ends up drying too dull & I have to apply multiple washes before the paint looks vibrant enough for me to start adding shadows. Why? Is it the paints I'm using? (Daler Rowney Simply brand) They're a student grade, pretty cheap paints. And they always end up drying way too fast, too. What am I doing wrong?
(The paper I use is 140 pound cold press Canson brand.)
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Thanks! :) I've been thinking of switching to Winsor and Newton Cotman brand for now. (I hear they're a good 'middle ground' paint. And maybe later I'll get something like M Graham.)
As for paper I've been considering Arches. Thanks so much! ^^
Ue better quality paints.
Squeeze them to your palate.
Let it dry.
Use the colors without mixing.
Layer until desired darkness.
I primarily paint with bright colors. My website is my name. You can see what I mean or message me and I can try to create tutorial on this...
Is there any substitute for corn starch? Can I use flour? P.s This is brilliant, my boyfriend's granny is an artist but she is now allergic to watercolour. I'm thinking about making these for her.
This is wonderful! Thank you👍
Thanks, miss Fehr!
Great video!
About "blooms" -- they look so interesting in themselves, but wrong for the painting as a whole. When is the right time to use them? Could I see any work with deliberate "blooms" -- I have a feeling this can create a very powerful effect when it is appropriate.
Good tutorial! The blooms are very useful for painting skin tones if used right I've found (usually through trial and error)
By the way, I noticed some comment that I found rude to you. If they are able to critique you, why are they watching the tutorial??? So for the rude people, watercolor on your own!!!😠
Quite rude to criticize this way. I really enjoyed her tutorial. If people don't like her videos they shouldn't watch them.
Some people are just evil and mean...ugh
Thank you so much ,your rose is beautiful
Very well done!! High quality!! Inspiring!! THANKS!!!!!!
Holding a paper towel in your hand is a great idea. I have a tendency to paint too wet. When I started I always painted too dry.
Great tips! Thanks for sharing!
So many questions answered here. Thank you!
Thank you Angela. This is a really handy tutorial. I got blooms in a painting today from overworking the sky. Once they are dry, IS there anything you can do to soften them with glazing or anything? (Very much a beginner, but I have really good quality paint and paper.)
Thank you very much Angela. That is helpful.
Beautiful lady and great painter
I don't have too much money to buy professional artist quality materials, but you say in many video's less quality material is better than more sub par material. I was thinking to get a very basic pallete of professional quality Windsor and newton watercolor, but just 3 tubes runs me about 50 dollars.
I figure then, I could get all three primary colors, maybe a pale cadmium yellow, quinacridone red, and an Antwerp blue. I know you can mix greens from blue and yellow, purples from blue and red, and oranges from red and yellow. From your video's I know I can mix the complimentaries to create grays browns and blacks, so I assume I could mix matching purples to go with yellows, greens to go with reds, and oranges to go with blues and create these neutrals. But.... assuming isn't knowing.
Do you think it would be okay to start with just these three colors, and would it be enough to actually do all those things? I suppose it's a little extra work mixing all the secondaries but I don't mind. Thank you so much! Your video's have helped me immensely.
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Maimeri makes a student grade paint that is really superior and I find you also get more for your money amount wise than cotman paints.
Also American Journey professional grade paints are quite reasonable. You can get them at Cheap Joes online
Erinne Kennedy-Dock I agree! I have been using Maimeri for a while now. I started with the oils and only actually fell in love with watercolour because of their paint. Even the student range is of great quality. I live in South Africa and Cotman's (anything W&N related) is so expensive, that I wouldn't be able to buy anything. Thanks for the demo's by the way, Angela. I think you are doing a great job with them.
AntiFormKeyblade (See my comment at the top)
I think you shouldn't scimp on paper. Paint isn't so important.
Great Tips, Angela!
Thanks for the advice it really helps with my progress
On you comment of how nature isn't that green... Not sure where you live but here in Iowa the greens are so bright, so strong here in summer they almost hurt they eye. A field of young corn is intensely green. So too are some garden plants and flowers. otherwise I really enjoyed your video.
She lives in a dull world.
you are correct Angela but people with little experience have more opinions than knowledge . I think you now this but are too polite to say. Your videos are terrific. I bought a demo of yours years ago. It was a portrait. Somehow I lost it on the computer but it was fabulous.
@@angelfehr
I live in a desert area and pure color is way too intense. I appreciate the tip, because I sit there wondering what color will mix in, not muddy, but look more real.
Very interesting tutorial. Thank you.
Thanks for this demo, it was really helpful.
Muy buenos sus tutoriales me gustan mucho.
Wow I love your tuturial gordious! nice vedio hope to learn someday.
Good video; the audio is great. Thanks for sharing these important tips.
Thank you I've just started painting..and I've already made them mistakes
the angle of the camera is a little dizzying, although it wouldn't be if the video were flipped upside down because it would feel like i was sitting across from you. or you could pull the camera down closer to your body facing forward so we are looking from your perspective.
I heard its good to have a bowl of water to wash brush for warm colours and a bowl to wash cool colours?
This is very helpful! Thank you!
I never really understood what "blooms' were or how to avoid them. Thanks for the tips!
Great Video. As a new watercolorist, it was very nice to hear what common mistakes are. I am so glad I stumbled across this video. :)
it is really amazing!!!! u know? i love your video!
Thank you. It really helped me.
How do i get bright ideas of what to paint? Like whenever i start to paint i end up thinking of ideas that just dont come in my mind! I have painted a few good things before like landscape nature and some other things now i am out of ideas!
I don't know what nature you're looking at, but where i'm from green is freaking bright and vivid, not muted. Sure, it gets muted with season passing and droughts, but those 5-6 months of spring-summer make plants look very intense, moreover since so many plants have that shine tot heir leaves, which further helps with brightness you get quite intense colours.
Also, one absolutely does not need to buy expensive supplies to be a good artist. On the contrary, if you rely so much on the quality of your supplies, then you probably do not have enough mastery over your art.
And every single one of your "mistakes" could not only be intentional thus not a mistake, but it could yield beautiful results!
I will leave you with the words of a true artist and mentor "We don't make mistakes. We just have happy accidents."
What do you think of water brushes? I really appreciate your pointers. I am new to water colors but I really hate having a cup of dirty water to rinse my brush in.
Great tips though I have to ask, the colors in nature aren’t bright to you? The colors to me are incredibly vibrant so i was a little thrown off by that
Is vermilion orange, and can you use raw umber instead? My set of 12 colors doesn't have a good selection.
Great tips, thanks
Haha, I had trouble with outlining for the longest time :) Thanks so much for this!
HI Angela, What is the brand of the palette you are using? I like how you have several wells. All my palette's have a big open space which gets tricky to clean.
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great tip!!!
Stupid question. Is there a point to the rough cut edge on loose watercolor paper? I always use a rotary cutter to get rid of them before I stack them up and rubber cement the edges to make a block.
That was incredibly helpful! Thank you!
thank you so much for your video it helped a lot
Love these tips!!!
A larger brush can help on some of those problems, too.