Pastels and Watercolors (and a few other art media)

[snowbear]

Awesome, guys! You're all putting me to shame.
Sharon - Which watercolors did you get? Really good job on the cherry blossoms. Get Princess on here with some of her stuff.
Leonore - Blick is great. Another one to check out is Jerry's Artarama. Looking forward to more.

Other than the kid's watercolors, I use tubes, but I've been thinking about getting a decent set of pans (10-12 color range).

 

[SquarePeg]

Awesome, guys! You're all putting me to shame.
Sharon - Which watercolors did you get? Really good job on the cherry blossoms. Get Princess on here with some of her stuff.
Leonore - Blick is great. Another one to check out is Jerry's Artarama. Looking forward to more.

Other than the kid's watercolors, I use tubes, but I've been thinking about getting a decent set of pans (10-12 color range).

This is the one I got. It was 17.99 on Amazon but I couldn't post that link as it's no longer available. I like that the colors pop out of the pan and can be refilled/swapped around if I order from them again. Also I would rather Princess NOT be on here. We have enough togetherness lately lol. She and her friends are already on Facebook and now I have to think twice before I post anything too whatever to make sure it won't embarrass her and have to get her ok before posting a photo if she's in it.

arteza set of 12 half pans in tin - Google Shopping

 

[snowbear]

I've seen them but haven't tried them. I might have to take closer look.
It seems to have a decent range of colors - you want warm and cool primaries, a brown or two couple greens, especially if you like landscapes (greens are not easy to mix consistently), black, and white.

LOL.

 

[terri]

Wow - a lot more art in here all of a sudden!

@snowbear: Jerry's is great. They seem to have faster shipping than Blick. With my oil pastels, I bounce between both these stores because they seem to have made an agreement not to stock the same brands.
It's so much fun to get art supplies delivered and dive in. Sharon, Leonore - both recent paintings are very good! Love the palettes you're using.

 

[SquarePeg]

These are the colors that came with it. I’ll need to order a white or use the watercolor pencils in the 2nd photo.

 

[SquarePeg]

Not why I chose this one but I love that it folds up super small.

 

[SquarePeg]

At the risk of over posting (I’m on vacation all week so get used to it)... I tried that poppy abstract tutorial that limr posted and I’m super happy with how it came out. It’s not perfect results but a great tutorial. Here’s the first layer:

And the official end to the tutorial:

Great sideways again! I wasn’t crazy about the stick stems so I added some leafy strokes and the obligatory watercolor tutorial flicks of color (I don’t really get that but I’m the newb so I did it). Here’s the final. I think I’ve figured out a solution for the sideways issue.

 

[limr]

I got these: h
//www.dickblick.com/items/00330-1029/

I have a set of tube paints, and I like them, but some of the caps broke (I have had them a while) and one of my blues is totally dry. I know that I can revive it, but I figured I would get a new set of paints anyway, just in case, since I needed to buy paper and a new palette anyway. And some more size brushes.

 

[SquarePeg]

I need brushes. I can use Princess’s for now but should really get my own if I’m going to add this to my hobbies - and right now it feels like it. The two tiny ones that came with what I bought are good for details but not for anything else. Any recommendations for brand and sizes that are really useful? Are there different brushes for wc vs acrylics? I used her acrylic brushes today...

 

[terri]

At the risk of over posting (I’m on vacation all week so get used to it)... I tried that poppy abstract tutorial that limr posted and I’m super happy with how it came out. It’s not perfect results but a great tutorial. Here’s the first layer:
View attachment 191648

And the official end to the tutorial:
View attachment 191649

Great sideways again! I wasn’t crazy about the stick stems so I added some leafy strokes and the obligatory watercolor tutorial flicks of color (I don’t really get that but I’m the newb so I did it). Here’s the final. I think I’ve figured out a solution for the sideways issue.

View attachment 191652

This turned out beautifully! !

Treat yourself to whatever supplies you need, and keep going.

 

[snowbear]

For basic watercolors, I'd start with a couple rounds (sometimes called brights) - I like a #4 and a larger, say #6 or #8. Add a #2 for details. Also get a few flats - about 1/4" (#10), and 1/2". For washing large areas, get a "Mop" - a large round brush. I've had some luck with a makeup Powder brush, though it does lose hairs. Some watercolor brushes have a handle that ends in an angled tip. This is for scratching the paint (sgraffito).

More often than not, I lean towards the long handle brushes used in acrylic, but I've started getting the shorter watercolor brushed. I prefer the red sable and the synthetic sable. I have some stiffer bristle brushes for acrylic.

Like anything else, you tend to get what you pay for. I'd stay away from the 12-brush kits, as they generally don't last long. Also, don't get too hung up on sizes. Think small, medium, ans large to begin with. It's like photography - you don't need to cover every focal length.

 

[snowbear]

At one time you wouldn't use oil paint brushes for acrylics or watercolors; the glue used would not always be water resistant and the bristles could (over time) fall out. This may or may not be tru with the water-washable oils, I really don'r know.

Also new brushes may be starched. Lightly bend bristles back and forth and even soak in cold water for 30 minutes to half an hour to break them in.

 

[SquarePeg]

Since I showed you the good I will show you the bad and the ugly. This tutorial was just music and very few subtitles. It was way above my level. It was speeded up and I had to rewind dozens of time. I watched it all the way through first and the tried it in my new little book. She wet the entire paper first which caused all my flowers to bleed everywhere and I made a mess trying to fix that. the one in front on the left is supposed to be detailed and in focus and the rest gradually out of focus but I really screwed that part up. I’ll try this again sometime in the future when I have a better clue what I’m doing. This is embarrassing but here it is!

 

[terri]

You're just showing an attempt to learn from what sounds like a hard tutorial to follow, combined with trying a completely different technique. No worries! This looks like the end result of just about every effort I've made with watercolors, regardless of the approach. I find control over this medium escapes me.

Soaking the paper first just seems to beg the pigment to run and bleed. She may have mastered it, but it may not be the best thing for beginners to try.

You don't have to like your end result to have learned from it. In the dark room, we call the trash can the "learning bin." I still fill mine when I get in there!

 

[snowbear]

Not having seen the video, I'm guessing they really want you to pre-stretch the paper to minimize warping: When paper gets wet, it will stretch, and then shrink again when it dries (nothing new to folks that have worked in a darkroom).. You will likely notice when your paint dries, the paper may buckle or warp. To help minimize this, before you paint, wet the paper with plain water then tack or tape it down to a drawing board. If you are using a table or piece of masonite as a surface, then just tape it down (use artist tape or brown wet-it-to-make-it-sticky packing tape). Let the paper dry, before you start painting.

If you are using a watercolor block (it is bound with tape on all sides, not just the top), you don't need to stretch it.