A few things about watercolor

“Watercolor and ink is a classic art technique; the ink provides the outlines and detail, whilst the watercolor provides the color. Usually a sketch is made in pencil first, then the ink is drawn over the final pencil lines. The ink is left to dry before the pencil is erased and the watercolour paint is added. Or it can be done the other way around with the watercolour background being painted first, and then the drawn ink details are added after the paint has dried. Watercolor paint is used on its own when small details aren’t required and the effect required is ‘soft’ with no definite angles/lines; for instance, watercolor on its own is often used for landscapes, foliage, sky etc.

Ink is available in the form of technical pens in different sizes (where the lower the number size, the finer the pen nib), or in the form of a jar of ink, into which different nibs can be dipped. If you will be painting over the ink with paint, the ink will need to be waterproof.

Watercolor paint is my favorite of all the paints because it’s naturally quite fresh and light in style due to the transparency of the paints. It is also suited to both traditional drawing and more modern styles, which makes it very versatile. When working with watercolors, you will need to soak lightweight watercolor paper in water and then tape the sides onto a solid board to prevent the paper from warping as it dries. You don’t need to do this stretching process however if you are working with heavy watercolor papers as they are unlikely to buckle and crinkle up when water is added. Paper of 140lbs upwards is recommended.

Two techniques used with watercolor paints are ‘wet-on-wet’ and ‘wet-on-dry’. Watercolor paints are of course wet when you apply them to the paper surface, but the paper itself can be either wet (damp) or dry. Applying wet paint to wet paper means that the paint will flow over the surface and blend together with other wet paint on the paper. This is useful for where soft edges are required e.g. when painting clouds. Applying wet paint to dry paper allows for more precision, detailing and much more control over where the paint goes.

I, along with a lot of other people, find it hard to think of what to draw on that first blank page of a shiny new moleskine or sketchbook. Drawing and painting regularly will greatly improve your skills, as well as making it easier to conquer the blank page fear. If you don’t know what to draw, start with things around the house that you can see; whether it’s a tin of baked beans, a pot plant, a glass of water, your camera or the classic fruit bowl.”

I found this brief text very useful as it contains some relevant facts and advice for beginners in watercolor so I wanted to have it on my learning log.

Source: http://studentz.squidoo.com/watercolour-and-ink-drawing-sketching-painting-travel-sketchbook-journal