:: watercolor flowers

I've been painting with watercolors on and off now for many years. Like most artists I go through certain creative periods, right now i'm entering into a watercolor period. Lately i've had a few ideas for paintings floating around in my head so i've started sketching them out for watercolors. I'm no watercolor expert, and it's been 5 years since I've actually drawn and painted something. So like most people I turned to YouTube for some watercolor inspiration. I started with this YouTube video. This was a super helpful place to start, it helped me feel a bit more comfortable with my brushes & paints. Then I moved on to this video, which as you will see is very similar to my painting above.  I'm kinda laughing now at the music playing in the background, but I really like all of these videos...even though I prefer classical music when I'm painting. It's still soothing overall to have the video going in the background while you get lost in creating. So, as you can see my painting is inspired by that video & some of it's techniques. However, nothing we ever do as an artist is going to come out exactly like someone else's work...we all develop our own style as we go. This was my first attempt, and I have to say I was pretty pleased with how it turned out & I enjoyed myself immensely.

I hope that possibly i've inspired you to give watercolors a try sometime, if you aren't already an accomplished watercolorist that is. Watercolors really are the most forgiving medium & I find it so relaxing.  Maybe some day with more practice I can give some actual video tutorials of my own. For now though, I can share with you the paints, paper, palette & brushes that I am currently using. I have had my Windsor & Newton compact set for many years now. I first purchased it to use for my illustrated travel journal...I absolutely love it, it's so tiny & so easy to travel with. I recently added to my watercolors by purchasing the Kuretake Gansai Tambi set and though it's not something I will ever travel with due to it's size, it's just lovely & has so many beautiful colors. I used a combination of the two sets for the painting above, and all of my recent paintings. This butcher tray palette, is also a recent acquisition and is hands down the best palette ever. I love that it's enamelware {speaks to the vintage lover in me} and it's fantastic for the amount of space it gives for mixing & keeping colors. Most of my brushes are inexpensive sets that I've purchased at Michael's or Hobby Lobby, though I recently purchased this Master's Touch 2000 round 12 brush & I think it's fantastic & I will be buying more of this series brush in the future.

So, will you be joining me in your own watercolor period? Do you already paint? If so what is your favorite subject? What are your favorite paints, paper & brushes? Feel free to share links in comments, I would love to see your work. Happy Painting!!

{peace, love & hugs}

Carrie

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