Practice Makes Perfect

When I was little I used color pens all the time. Everything was clear. There was always a certain area for me to fill in. There was no such thing as blending or mixing colors. I was told that I was not good with colors by more than one art teacher. One even told me that my drawings were good but once I put colors on them I ruined them. Now thinking about it, I feel a bit sad!

I’ve never considered working with watercolors. However, I’ve been seeing many art works and pieces done using watercolors and they are so beautiful. I wish I can paint like some of the artists out there one day. Therefore, a couple days ago I decided to do some research about watercolor. I basically know nothing about it and have no clue what brand of the paint or which brushes I should begin with. The first thing I did was to go on Amazon and look for art supplies. I searched products with the best customer reviews and a reasonable price for a beginner. I found a set of 12 brushes which seemed to include most of the basic shapes. I found a sketcher’s pocket box of watercolors by Winsor & Newton. Also I got myself a Moleskine Watercolour Notebook. Well I do know watercolors go on watercolor papers!

Today I received all the products I ordered and couldn’t wait to give them a try.

Left to right: My sketch pencil and sharpener, brushes, notebook and watercolor box. 

The first thing I did, of course, was to examine the watercolor box!

A very cute little box!

Pans and color labels.

Each pan was wrapped in plastic and a paper label.

It’s very tiny and only comes with 12 colors. However it’s good enough for me to try first. I unpacked each pan and read through their descriptions.

Winsor & Newton Watercolours

After I unwrapped each pan and put them back in the box. I felt really excited and happy! These colors look so wonderful. I decided to do a color chart. I prepared myself two glasses of water, one for cleaning the brush and one for dipping.

All the things I need.

Okay! Now let’s turn to the first page of the new notebook!

Watercolor papers of this notebook are nice and thick.

Now it’s time for some sampling.

The process is really fun! Though I’m not very familiar with watercolor, I am very eager to try more and paint more.

Here’s the result of my color chart. Not exactly a chart but you know what I mean.

Color samples

After putting down the name and number of each pan. I tried to draw a little fox.

My very first watercolor fox

I tried to sign my name with a brush and it was definitely a bad idea haha. I think I will have to watch some watercolor tutorials to learn about the basics. At the same time I will experiment and try to paint everyday. This has been fun! I will try to document my learning progress as often as possible. I’m thinking that I should choose a subject, such as plants, animals or something, to draw everyday. I believe it takes a lot of practice before I can feel really comfortable working with watercolor. But hey, practice makes perfect. I’m sure if I keep on practicing something good is to be expected.

 

Till next time.

I-Shan