WATERCOLOR PAINTING

W A T E R C O L O R   P A I N T I N G  by  Nancy Diodati

I was in the Valencia UNM Library one day and I noticed they had a gallery display featuring some of the art of instructors who taught classes on campus.  The watercolors intrigued me and I went home and signed up immediately to take the watercolor class. 

I could not wait for class to begin. I was pretty excited about this new medium I was going to be working with and I expected to paint like the instructor by the time the class ended in 8 weeks!  That is just like expecting to dance like Michael Jackson after 16 one hour lessons. 

Well, I was horrible at waterpainting.  Everything I did, just like the instructor, came out wrong.  I worked even harder than the other students.  I did twice the amount of assignments.  I tried to watercolor the way I painted with acrylics.  It was all wrong.  My watercolor paint was too strong.  I didn't wet the paper properly and I used a slew of other incorrect methods.  Finally near the end of the class, after weeks of frustration, I began to develop my own watercolor style and method.  It did not come easy to me like all the other art mediums I worked with.  I definately was not a natural watercolor artist! 



Arc de Triomphe



I found out I had to stick with certain subjects.  I was good with buildings like  the ones I modeled in clay. I could watercolor animals and people like I did in acrylic painting, but when I tried landscapes, boat scenes, and flowers like the instructor and the other students in my class I would end up with a big mess.

After sometime, I began to relax and let the paint run more instead of trying to make the paint stay and go where I wanted it.  Water runs.  I let the paint move around by moving the paper not the paint. That was all new to me.  Watercolor painting is a medium that takes a great deal of trial and error.  When I paint with acrylic paints I just begin painting. The paint stays where I put it.  When I begin watercolor painting I had learned to sketch an outline and start with a pencil drawing underneath my paint.

Learning the paper, for one is important.  Not all watercolor paper gives the same effect.  Some paper absorbs more water. Some paper is very textured and is great for trees and adobe walls.  It took a little time, but I have kept practicing for a whole year now.  You will notice my drawing outlines. It gave my watercolors more defination.  Not all water colorist do this but for me it seems to work. Sometimes I go back and add a little pastel chalk to my work, just to get a brilliant color that I can't get with water paints. I like vibrate colors.  Not all paints are the same.  I had a real pastel set of paint and was not getting the bright colors I was used to with acrylics.

I also found a great website that offered lessons by online video that has been very helpful to me as a new watercolor artist:   http://www.watercolorpainting.com/

These are some of my favorite watercolors.