Great demonstration. Thanks. Also, a discussion of papers would be good. My paper was too absorbent and sucked up the color like blotting paper. I'll try again with one of the Fabrianos.
I completely agree with you about using 100% cotton paper. It really does make a difference. My go-to inexpensive 100% cotton paper is New York Central.
Great tips and wonderful painting! There are 3 other 100% cotton papers I would recommend. Two are considerable cheaper than Arches and one a little less. The one that is a little less is the Fabriano Artistico. I especially like their bright white paper. Love the grain on it too. Paints do lift easier than on Arches (which may or may not be a good thing depending on what paints you like to use and how many layers you like to paint). The other 2 less expensive but still very nice to paint on are the Hahnemühle and the Baohong. My local art supply store carries sheets of the Baohong Masters Choice. It is perfect for my first try painting (I do two as well) or for smaller studies. Hope this helps :)
I agree - still life paintings are so boring to do! Personally, I find them really hard to do in an interesting way, which is also very discouraging when trying to learn something new.
I enjoy watching you paint. Every one of your paintings are beautiful! Do you have any classes for intermediate learning? Thank you for sharing your struggles.
So fun. I'm hoping to learn your watercolor beautiful work with some whimsical fictional creatures for a children's book...practicing today. So appreciate your work.
Your work takes my breath away. ❤ I'd love to see you paint on Yupo (polypropylene) paper. I've been able to achieve amazing results using it. You can spray the almost dry paint with alcohol or water for texture and cotton buds to lift and move pigment.
I’m a watercolor hobbyist, and can’t agree more than paper is key. I practice on Baohong academy paper, which is more affordable than arches. I also came to know a seller of art supplies who every now and then have returned & used paper blocks to sell at a much lower price. These are the best of value in my opinion.
That’s totally ok - drawing and painting are 2 different skills. Tracing is fine as long as it’s copyright free images; I also provide black and white outlines for all my tutorials to make it easier to practice 😊
I absolutely agree with Anna's comments about the importance of quality paper. I'm still learning but two leaps forward happened when I a. started using better paper and b. found Anna's channel. I think both these changes have had a huge impact on my understanding of the watercolour process. Anna's discussion of transparency and how she layers has really helped me understand how I can acquire more luminance in my work.
I fully agree with painting what you love, and I think this can be especially true for neurodivergent artists. When I started painting, I had undiagnosed ADHD. Painting anything that wasnt an animal was so demotivating and stressful. I definitely had to get that joy and excitement established before I was open to learning more about technique :)
I had the same experience with 100% cotton paper and agree completely. Sometime when you’re doing a painting like this, could you tell us when you’re using synthetic ox gall, please? I can’t get my paints to act like yours, and I suspect the ox gall is the reason. Thank you for all the work you do, you’ve helped me understand watercolor in ways I never have before.
It’s so sad when someone bursts your bubble. I’m so happy that you worked through this and are now showing us how to become exceptional painters too. Love your work.
