Professional watercolor drawings. The emotional realism of Steve Hanks

How to learn to paint with watercolors from scratch?

How to learn to paint with watercolors from scratch?

Watercolor painting is one of the most difficult in the world, but at the same time, it is the most delicate, fragile and attractive for beginning artists. What's so special about it? The whole secret is in the transparency of the lines, thanks to which even the most insignificant details are visible. color transitions. The wateriness of the pattern, which gives it volume. But how to comprehend this not simple art? How to learn to paint with watercolors from scratch? Before we start drawing, we need to select auxiliary materials. Art school for adults and children in its courses offers professional education drawing in any technique, but you can learn it yourself. Let's look at the points in this article that will help us with this.

On what paper and with what brushes do you paint with watercolors?

1. Paper. It’s better to immediately buy a watercolor one, it’s not expensive (about 40 rubles for a notebook). Its difference from the usual one is in the dense texture of the sheets. Such paper will not swell from water and warp.
2. Brushes. In a painting store, first take two brushes. Small and big. Squirrel fur is well suited for watercolor paints.
3. Palette. The choice of palette is not important; we choose any one. Some artists replace the palette with small glass, it is practical to use and easy to clean.
4. Paints. Children's honey paints with the addition of lemon and other things - immediately set aside. We won't need them. In the artist store we take any professional paints. Open them and look at the colors, you should like them. It is not necessary to take the most expensive ones, this is not important.

How can beginners learn to paint with watercolors step by step?

How to paint beautifully with watercolors? In order for our watercolor drawings turned out to be of high quality, it is necessary to master several basic techniques.
1.Uniform filling. Draw a square or rectangle on paper. It is better to choose a darker color, it will be easier to see. Place it on the brush and stretch it from one corner to the other. Paint again. Draw the next strip so that it overlaps the previous one. If the first strip does not completely flow into the second, then tilt the sheet of paper. Pick up the paint and continue to paint stripes, maintaining a uniform shade. Rinse the brush in water and squeeze. Smooth out the dark stripes with a brush. Let the drawing dry. If you get a rectangle evenly filled with paint, you've succeeded.
2. Dependence of paint shade on the amount of water. We put paint on the brush and draw the first line, then lower the brush into the water and draw the second one 1 cm from it. Let's continue to dip the brush in water and draw lines until they become as transparent as possible. This exercise helps you feel how much water you need to add to get the desired shade.
3.Gradient. The goal of this exercise is to obtain a uniform transition from dark to light. Load your brush with paint and brush vertical line, then dip the brush in water and move the second one so that it extends slightly beyond the first and the paint begins to flow. We repeat the same thing again, adding water. We achieve a complete color transition. Run the last strip with just water. Dry your brush and run a roller of paint underneath the fill.

Learn to paint with watercolors step by step using various techniques for beginners

How to start painting with watercolors? It is necessary to comprehend the basics of art. These are certain exercises, by doing which you will master the first basics of drawing. watercolor paints.
1. Wet on wet. Wet a small piece of paper with water. The sheet should be evenly saturated with water. Now take the paint on the brush and brush it over the wet area. Watch how the paint flows. Practice adding more or less paint to a piece of paper. This will be very useful to you.
2. Flow from color to color. First, let's draw any shapes with water. Take on a brush, for example, Blue colour and apply it to the figure. Add a little burgundy and yellow. You must achieve smooth transition from one color to another. If this does not happen, add some water.
3. Layering. Let's draw the background as in the first exercise. Let's wait a little and let it dry completely. Draw a couple of circles on the background different colors and let it dry. Draw a third layer on the circles.
4. Reception using table salt. Draw a background and sprinkle a little regular table salt on top. We wait. The salt crystals gradually absorb the paint and become like stars. The effect is most noticeable in dark areas.
5. Clouds using a napkin. Fill in the background and while the paint is still wet, begin to apply a napkin, giving it a shape. This way we get a texture that resembles clouds. This technique can be used to correct mistakes that you encounter while drawing. Just blot off any excess paint.
6. Splashes. We put paint on the brush and run our finger over the brush over the paper or drip it, forming uneven splashes over the entire surface. It is better to cover the table with a cloth to avoid contamination.

10 common mistakes beginner artists make

1. Love yourself. Many artists begin to scold themselves and unnecessarily criticize their paintings. There is no need to do this. If you drew something, praise yourself. Everything you do is only for you and to fulfill your creative needs. The more you enjoy the drawing process, the better you will do.
2. Use comfortable materials. High quality brushes, paper and paint. Then the drawing process will bring you only pleasure.
3. Copy stories famous artists. They will serve as the basis of your knowledge.
4. Show your paintings to all your friends, relatives and acquaintances. Donate your painting. Gather like-minded people around you who will support you.
5. Warm and cold colors. Use more cool tones in the distance and warmer ones up close. So you show aerial perspective in your painting.
6. Do not paint the entire background with one paint. Change the tone, mix colors, create color in your painting. Make two or three strokes with one color, add another. The more shades you use, the more interesting your painting will be.
7. Give the painting a chance to dry. This way you will make it more elaborate and deep.
8. Show volume up close. Apply more paint on nearby objects using a palette knife. Make them voluminous.
9. The more colors you mix, the more picturesque your painting will be. Mix in halftones.
10. Decorate paintings with baguettes. It gives the picture additional volume.

Guys, we put our soul into the site. Thank you for that
that you are discovering this beauty. Thanks for the inspiration and goosebumps.
Join us on Facebook And In contact with

Watercolor is often called the most naughty, capricious paint. It is difficult to work with, difficult to store, unpredictable and requires maximum concentration from the artist. But those who managed to conquer and tame it know the secret of creating truly amazing works, looking at which you ask the only question: “Who did they sell their soul to in order to paint like that?”

website invites you to the gallery of truly atmospheric, bright and talented works. That's exactly it modern Art who is not ashamed to confess his love.

The emotional realism of Steve Hanks

The faces of people in most of the artist’s paintings are darkened or turned to the side. This is done to express emotions and to allow the body to “speak.” “I have always tried to show the world only positive moments in life. I hope that my work brings joy, peace and comfort to the viewer's life,” says Hanks.

Rainy watercolor by Lin Ching Che

The talented artist Lin Ching-Che is 27 years old. He is inspired autumn rain. Cloudy city streets do not make a guy feel melancholy and despondent, but rather make him want to pick up a brush. Lin Ching Che paints in watercolors. With colorful water it glorifies the rainy beauty of megacities.

The boiling fantasy of Arush Votsmush

Hiding under the pseudonym Arush Votsmush talented artist from Sevastopol Alexander Shumtsov. The artist says about his paintings: “I’m not trying to prove anything to anyone with my works. First of all, I enjoy it. This is a pure creativity drug. Or a clean life - without doping. Just a miracle."

The charm of Paris in the works of Thierry Duval

Paris-born artist Thierry Duval has traveled extensively. Hence the presence of entire series of paintings based on “geographical characteristics.” Nevertheless, Paris was and remains the author’s favorite place. The lion's share of works is dedicated specifically to the city of lovers. He has his own technique of layering watercolors, which allows him to create paintings with almost hyper-realistic detail.

Evening Calm by Joseph Zbukvic

Today, Croatian-born Australian Joseph Zbukvic is considered one of the pillars of watercolor painting throughout the world. The artist fell in love with watercolor literally from the first stroke; he was struck by the untamed nature and individuality of this technique.

Secrets of the East through the eyes of Myo Vin Ong

The artist Myoe Win Aung dedicated all his work to his native Burma, its everyday life and holidays, lay people and monks, towns and cities. This world is calm, dressed in gentle colors, mysterious and slightly thoughtful, like the smile of Buddha.

Incredible watercolor by Joe Francis Dowden

English artist Joe Francis Dowden paints hyper-realistic watercolors. And he believes that everyone can do this, you just need to know the secrets of the technique. The secret of his inspiration is extremely simple: “Throw away your watercolor textbooks and get lost in a real forest.”

The magic of ballet from Liu Yi

The watercolors of this Chinese artist can easily be called art about art. After all, his favorite theme is images of people who are directly related to him - for example, ballerinas or classical musicians. The way they are presented in the paintings is peculiar: people seem to emerge from a thin haze, emotional and very characteristic. To some extent they echo the images of ballerinas French artist Edgar Degas.

But how to comprehend this not simple art? Before we start drawing, we need to select auxiliary materials. Let's look at the points in this article that will help us with this.

On what paper and what brushes to paint with watercolors

2. Brushes. In a painting store, first take two brushes. Small and big. Squirrel fur is well suited for watercolor paints.

3. Palette. The choice of palette is not important; we choose any one. Some artists replace the palette with a small glass; it is practical to use and easy to clean.

4. Paints. Children's honey paints with the addition of lemon and other things - immediately set aside. We won't need them. In the artist store we take any professional paints. Open them and look at the colors, you should like them. It is not necessary to take the most expensive ones, this is not important.

How to learn to paint with watercolors from scratch step by step

How to paint beautifully with watercolors? In order for our watercolor drawings to be of high quality, it is necessary to master several basic techniques.

1. Uniform filling. Draw a square or rectangle on paper. It is better to choose a darker color, it will be easier to see. Place it on the brush and stretch it from one corner to the other. Paint again. Draw the next strip so that it overlaps the previous one. If the first strip does not completely flow into the second, then tilt the sheet of paper. Pick up the paint and continue to paint stripes, maintaining a uniform shade. Rinse the brush in water and squeeze. Smooth out the dark stripes with a brush. Let the drawing dry. If you get a rectangle evenly filled with paint, you've succeeded.

2. Dependence of paint shade on the amount of water. We put paint on the brush and draw the first line, then lower the brush into the water and draw the second one 1 cm from it. Let's continue to dip the brush in water and draw lines until they become as transparent as possible. This exercise helps you feel how much water you need to add to get the desired shade.

3. Gradient. The goal of this exercise is to obtain a uniform transition from dark to light. Load up the paint with a brush and draw a vertical line, then dip the brush in water and draw a second one so that it extends slightly beyond the first and the paint begins to flow. We repeat the same thing again, adding water. We achieve a complete color transition. Run the last strip with just water. Dry your brush and run a roller of paint underneath the fill.

Learn to paint with watercolors step by step using various techniques for beginners

How to start painting with watercolors? It is necessary to comprehend the basics of art. These are certain exercises, by doing which you will master the first basics of painting with watercolors.

1. Wet on wet. Wet a small piece of paper with water. The sheet should be evenly saturated with water. Now take the paint on the brush and brush it over the wet area. Watch how the paint flows. Practice adding more or less paint to a piece of paper. This will be very useful to you.

2. Flow from color to color. First, let's draw any shapes with water. Take, for example, a blue color on a brush and apply it to the figure. Add a little burgundy and yellow. You should achieve a smooth transition from one color to another. If this does not happen, add some water.

3. Layering. Let's draw the background as in the first exercise. Let's wait a little and let it dry completely. Draw a couple of circles of different colors on the background and let it dry. Draw a third layer on the circles.

4. Reception using table salt. Draw a background and sprinkle a little regular table salt on top. We wait. The salt crystals gradually absorb the paint and become like stars. The effect is most noticeable in dark areas.

5. Clouds using a napkin. Fill in the background and while the paint is still wet, begin to apply a napkin, giving it a shape. This way we get a texture that resembles clouds. This technique can be used to correct mistakes that you encounter while drawing. Just blot off any excess paint.

6. Splashes. We put paint on the brush and run our finger over the brush over the paper or drip it, forming uneven splashes over the entire surface. It is better to cover the table with a cloth to avoid contamination.

Common mistakes of beginning artists

2. Use comfortable materials. High quality brushes, paper and paint. Then the drawing process will bring you only pleasure.

3. Copy scenes from famous artists. They will serve as the basis of your knowledge.

4. Show your paintings to all your friends, relatives and acquaintances. Donate your painting. Gather like-minded people around you who will support you.

5. Warm and cold colors. Use more cool tones in the distance and warmer ones up close. This will show aerial perspective in your painting.

6. Do not paint the entire background with one paint. Change the tone, mix colors, create color in your painting. Make two or three strokes with one color, add another. The more shades you use, the more interesting your painting will be.

7. Give the painting a chance to dry. This way you will make it more elaborate and deep.

8. Show volume up close. Apply more paint to nearby objects using a palette knife. Make them voluminous.

9. The more colors you mix, the more picturesque your painting will be. Mix in halftones.

10. Decorate paintings with baguettes. It gives the picture additional volume.

Each of us is an artist at heart. Remember the golden moments of childhood, when we enthusiastically painted “scribbles” with paints. The art of painting is the world's greatest secret. With the help of paints and a brush, real miracles appear on canvas. Many people mistakenly believe that they do not have artistic talent. In fact, anyone can learn to paint. How to paint real works of art with watercolors? To do this, you just need to follow simple recommendations.

What do we need?

So, we decided to enter the world of art and become artists. How to paint with watercolors correctly? To do this you will need the following tools:

paints;
brushes;
palette;
sheets of paper.

You should be very careful when choosing accessories. Depends on them final result- piece of art.

Choosing paints

How to paint with watercolors yourself? First of all, you need to choose the right paints. On the shelves of art stores there is great amount watercolor paints. Which ones are better to choose?

You shouldn't look at the price category here. High cost is not always a guarantee of quality.

It is better to choose paints made from beeswax. The cover should say “honey”. They have the brightest color.

Paint brushes

Brushes are equally important. Which ones are most suitable for watercolors?

The brush should be soft and pick up paint well. Its tip should be pointed. The bristles of the brush should be well secured to the base. The best option brushes made from squirrel wool will become. Their bristles correspond to the stated parameters.

How many brushes will you need? To draw small parts of the picture, you should purchase thin brush(number 1 or 2). For the main part - greater thickness (numbers 5-6 or 7).

Palette

The palette serves as a kind of “draft”, a place for mixing paints. Several paints of different colors are applied to the palette and mixed. The result is the desired shade.

You can purchase a ready-made plastic palette. You can also make it yourself. For this, a sheet of thick paper is suitable, which should be folded along the edges.

Choosing paper for watercolors

The process of choosing paper should be approached with special attention. The fact is that watercolor is a translucent paint. It requires a large amount of water during operation. If you draw on plain paper, it can quickly get wet from water. It is better to purchase special paper for watercolors. It is denser and thicker. Its surface is rough. Water particles get stuck on the rough surface of the paper. This prevents spreading.

Let's start drawing

How to paint with watercolors yourself? Having studied the main features of watercolor paint, we know what it requires a large number of water. The drawing turns out translucent, airy, flying. This effect is formed due to the structure of the paint.

There are 2 main techniques for painting with watercolors:

Dry technique.
Wet paper technique.

Everyone has been familiar with the basics of dry technique since childhood: we put paint on a brush and paint. Depending on the type of drawing, you can first draw its outline using a pencil.

To get the desired color, you need to dip the brush in water, then in necessary paint and apply it to the palette. After this, the brush is washed with water and dipped into paint of a different color. The resulting colors are mixed on the palette. The result will be the desired shade.

What is the difference between the technique of painting with watercolors on wet paper? This technique is quite interesting, because... it allows you to create an unusual effect. To do this, before you start drawing, you should thoroughly moisten a sheet of paper with water. Until it's dry, on wet paper watercolor paint is applied. When mixed with water, it spreads, leaving intricate patterns on the paper.

Let's draw

So, we purchased materials for work. Learned basic drawing techniques. Now you can begin the creative process directly.

How to paint with watercolors for beginners? First, it is recommended to try to study paints. What will it take? Let's look at the main lessons for learning about paints:

Let's study colors. Take a sheet of watercolor paper. Load your brush with the color you like. Put it on paper. Look at the effect. Now increase the degree of pressure on the brush. Look how the color has changed (it should darken). Now type on the brush more water and dip it in paint. Run a wet brush over the paper - the design will be translucent.
Mix colors. Try mixing several colors. What shades did you get as a result?
Apply yellow, orange, red colors to the leaf. Study them. What emotions do they evoke? Now apply blue, purple, black colors to the sheet. What sensations arise now?
We draw from life. Now we need to learn how to display the objects around us. Place an apple in front of you. Study it carefully. Look what color it is. Try drawing it.

Practical work

After learning the basic skills of painting, you can move on to independent work.

We learn to paint the objects around us with watercolors. Look around. What do you see? You can draw a still life. To do this, place several pieces of dishes and any fruit in front of you. Try to draw them.

What else can you paint with watercolors? There are no restrictions here. It all depends on the artist’s imagination. We can draw everything that surrounds us. You can depict your own imaginary world.

You can start learning basic techniques for working with watercolors by painting flowers and trees.

How to draw a flower?

Draw a flower in watercolor yourself:

Think about what kind of flower you should draw.
Study its primary colors.
With help a simple pencil draw the main outline on the paper.
Choose a paint for the background and paint over it.
After the background has dried, you can begin painting with watercolors.
Paint the flower with translucent paint.
After the watercolor has dried, paint the outline with darker paint.
After the drawing has dried, place accents on the flower. This will give it volume. To place accents, you need to apply several thick strokes along the contour of the flower with contrasting paint. Our drawing is ready.

Painting with watercolors is easy and very exciting activity. Each of us can feel like a real artist, creating entire works of art. You just have to listen to the advice offered.

There are never too many ideas for creativity, but if in creative process Children also participate - you must agree that it often becomes not only creative, but also exploratory. WITH simple techniques the use of watercolors, which will show us from a new side the properties of some ordinary objects, introduces us today to Anastasia Borisova , blog author English4.me - English for me and my family. Anastasia’s blog is not only about language, but also about creativity, so today we are going on an excursion to creative storerooms and studying simple watercolor techniques and techniques.

There are so many creative and well-rounded mothers here on! And interesting finds await us at every step. Many mothers, seeing the incredible results of their 2-4 year old child’s work after some kind of training - even if not always as intended - exclaim: “How original and simple! Where is this taught? Everyone wants to become a little bit of a sorceress for their children.

So, using the simplest techniques, in 15 minutes I painted a winter landscape, which my husband considered worthy of putting up for sale. 🙂

The best children's books

Unconventional use of materials and variety created effects They give the child the feeling “I can!”, and allow the mother, who all her life thought that she couldn’t draw, to overcome “I can’t.”

Watercolor is a fluid and unruly thing. We will use precisely these not always convenient properties, creating “masterpieces” mainly “wet”.

1. Crayon resistance effect - manifestations of wax crayon

This is perhaps the most common technique. Using a wax crayon or a candle, a drawing or inscription is applied to a sheet of paper, and then painted over with watercolors. Using a white chalk or candle, you can write secret notes or greetings; yellow chalk creates a glow effect; bright blues, greens and pinks under dark watercolors - a neon effect. You can also combine this technique with rubbing. We put a textured backing under the sheet (whatever you can find at home) and rub it on top with the flat side of the chalk. If you do this carefully and place leaves or some kind of relief object, you get excellent prints.

2. Salt - salt over wet watercolor

By sprinkling salt on a still wet painted sheet, you can achieve interesting effects. Medium-coarse salt leaves “snowflakes” on the blue when dried. On a green background you will get translucent foliage. Fine extra salt dries almost completely. This way you can add texture to a road, a stone, or create a galaxy.

3. Blotting - bleaching paint.

By removing excess water and a layer of paint from the sheet with a dry napkin, you can draw winter spruce trees covered with snow or sea foam. You can create a pale moon or sun by wrapping a toilet paper tube in a paper napkin and blotting the watercolor sky. Even a drawing that has already dried can be corrected by sprinkling it with water and gently rubbing the desired area.

If you crumple a napkin and apply it to blue sky, you will get very natural clouds.

A crumpled napkin also creates an interesting texture. Texture sheets can then be successfully used when creating collages.

4. Pressing - pushing

In the picture above you can see a clear inscription in dark letters(I...). It was made on wet watercolor with the tip of a brush (the paint seems to flow into the depressed hollows). This way you can sign the drawing or add details. The same principle applies to placing a sheet of wet watercolor with a textured object on it under a press. It is best, of course, to print the leaves this way. But even feathers and a tree branch make a good decorative picture.

5. Splatter and spray - splashing

A toothbrush plus watercolors will help you make rain, snow, falling leaves, and depict the wind. It's fun to just splash different colors on a dry leaf. A moistened leaf will give a completely different effect. You will be able to watch how the droplets blur, merging with each other into a bizarre ornament.

You can spray around the stencil, or vice versa inside it. A consistently original result is guaranteed. Just don't forget to cover your workspace with newspapers; the paint will fly everywhere.

6. Masking tape - painting with masking tape

I was surprised to discover that the above-mentioned adhesive tape peels off from the paper several times, which means we use it as a basis for the stencil. You can tear it into uneven strips with your hands and draw a forest.

Anything turns out great geometric compositions. You can even cut out something more detailed into the thickness of the tape, like the houses in the first photo. The main thing is that this stencil does not need to be additionally secured and held, and the likelihood of paint getting under it is not high if the edges are smoothed well.

7. Foam painting - drawing with foam

Fun and beautiful texture in one bottle. In a container you need to mix water, a little liquid soap and a lot of paint. We hand the child a straw and allow him to blow bubbles. As soon as the tall hat grows, we apply paper to it. In this case, it is better to undress the child completely, so that it will be easier to wash later.

8. Alcohol and citric acid - alcohol and citric acid

Both liquids seem to “move apart” and “eat away” the paint. A drop of alcohol gives a fish eye effect, and its volatility can create additional areolas around the eye, similar to a halo around the sun. Very unusual.

Lemon juice spreads well over fresh watercolors, but has no effect on dried ones. It spreads quite a lot on its own, so it’s important not to overdo it. Ideally, you get these “furry” blots. After drying, they can be turned into monsters or something else by adding arms, legs, eyes.

9. Stamping - stamping

In my opinion, it is better to work with stamps with thicker paints - gouache, acrylic. You can use whatever is at hand, and also cut out stamps from potatoes, imprint cut vegetables, etc. Watercolor is good for creating textures. We take a napkin, dip it in paint and leave marks that are quite similar to stones, for example.

10. Plastic cling wrap - cling film

Did you know that film can also draw? It is enough to lay it on wet watercolor and move it. The result is ice crystals or other kinds of abstractions.

If you make one large, even “window” framed by wrinkles, then after the paint dries you will see, say, a lake or wormwood. In the photo it even looks like it turned out to be a rose.

11. Blowing

Another technique for drawing with a tube. And again you need to blow, but now as hard as possible, driving a drop of paint along the sheet. As a result, you will get intricate trees or just funny weirdos, or perhaps hair for a pre-drawn character.

If you want, you can let the paint flow on its own wherever it wants. Just turn the sheet over vertically and then play around with your child, this is what it looks like.

12. Light table - light table

Or a window, in other words. 🙂 This technique is not for kids, but mom can create a gallery of children’s portraits if she wants. All relatives will be provided with gifts for the year ahead. In childhood, I think everyone “combined” pictures by placing the original with a white sheet of paper against the window. What if you take a photo? In photo editors, you need to ensure that there are 2 colors left - black and white (posterize function).

Then there are several options for action. You can paint over all the white areas with wax crayon or a candle, and then go over with watercolors. It turns out interesting, but not very clean, because it’s quite difficult to track where the chalk went.

You can simply outline all the white spots with a pencil, and then carefully fill in the rest with paint. It's not as long or as difficult as it seems. Just a little patience and accuracy, and you will have 3-4 portraits during your children's nap.

If you decide to put things on stream, then it is better to purchase reserve liquid for watercolor paper in hobby markets. We apply it with a brush on white, go over it with watercolors, and then remove the reserve, like a film from a sheet. Fast, clean, original.