My Art 3

 

Working in Watercolors

Kittle's Fine Art & Supply
100 N. White Mountain Rd. #101
Show Low, AZ 85901

In a previous post, I mentioned the wonderful owners of my favorite art store, John and Julie. While living near Show Low, Arizona, I could visit their shop often, and whether I was buying, teaching, taking a class, or painting pottery, visiting the shop was always a pleasure. It’s bright and open, stocked with enough supplies to keep you busy for days, with wonderful, knowledgeable people to chat with, plus classes throughout the month. If you find yourself in Show Low, be sure to stop by and tell them I sent you...and no, they aren't paying me for this...and until Julie reads her messages she won't even know I posted this! You can find their shop here: Kittle's Fine Art.

One of the classes I took at Kittle’s was given by a local artist. Up until then, my watercolor experience was limited to the kiddie tray of paints—the kind with a wildly unusable brush whose plastic bristles were splayed in every direction!

For this class, I went all out with grownup paints in actual tubes, a selection of natural-hair brushes, an airtight watercolor palette, watercolor paper, masking tape, masking fluid, and many other goodies I'd never tried before.

It was a week-long course, and I'd love to say I mastered watercolor, absorbed all the terms and techniques, and would never again attempt to layer a light color over a darker one. But none of that would be true. I enjoyed the class and was pleased with my pieces, but in the end, I'm still an acrylic paint kind of  girl (it’s easier to cover my mistakes)! But it never hurts to try new things; you never know what might change your life.

For example, after years of despising garbanzo beans, I recently discovered I actually like them! So, never say never and give something new a shot. Take an art or cooking class, visit an animal shelter and bring home a new ball of fur, go on a mini get-away, start a blog, or even just try a garbanzo bean!

Below are the results of my watercolor class:

A cool technique where salt is added
to the wet watercolor. As the paint dries,
it creates a beautiful, textured pattern
resembling frost, crystals, or starbursts.

The painting I used for my model
I found through Google. While my proportions
aren't quite accurate, I still love this painting.

This piece was inspired by a man I follow
on Instagram, Grandpa Chan.
He is an amazing artist and his page is called:
drawings_for_my_grandchildren
(I used course sea salt and a toothbrush for this painting)

Another Grandpa Chan inspiration.
(Sponge Technique)

I used alcohol for this painting. 
It pushes the paint away leaving
the white flowers.

This painting is supposed to represent the reflection
of trees on water.
I used a spray bottle to make the colors flow.

I loved how this one turned out.
It's another, and better example,
of using a spray bottle and water.

My colorful fish.
I moved the colors by blowing on them
with a straw.

This painting was difficult because of the 
lighter areas. In acrylic painting you can add light
colors over dark, but you can't with watercolors.

This was another difficult painting for the same
reason as above. It was a real learning curve for me,
but this is probably my favorite painting out of all of them.

I hope you've enjoyed my watercolors. The good, the bad, and the...not so horrible! Now go out and find something fun to try!

"Every artist

was first

an amateur"

Ralph Waldo Emerson