WATERCOLOR PAINTING TIPS

FOR BEGINNING ARTISTS

by Tyl Destoop
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Hi there,

Thank you for downloading my free guide

“Watercolor Painting Tips For Beginning Artists“.

So you’re a fan of watercolors, but you don’t really know where to start?

Here are my very best tips -

I hope they help you on your creative painting journey. Let’s begin!
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TIP 1:
Always keep 2 jars of water at hand:
one for cleaning out the brushes and the
other filled with clear water to dilute your
paint and wet your paper.

TIP 2:
Paint subjects that appeal to you. A vase
with beautiful flowers from your own
backyard. Or choose topics you know
well such as your dog, your favorite
food, the beach, the trees in your street.

TIP 3:
Try to follow workshops or Youtube videos from artists who inspire you. Some-
times an additional explanation is enough to make painting much easier.

TIP 4:
Follow as many different watercolor teachers as possible, this will help you devel-
op your own style.

TIP 5:
Watercolor is one of the most difficult painting styles so stick with it and don’t give
up if it doesn’t work right away.

TIP 6:
Try to work with the best possible materials that fit your budget. This also makes it
easier for yourself and the quality of your watercolor will improve.
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TIP 7:
Use watercolor paper, this will give you the best results. Rough paper has a
coarse structure, which gives your illustration more texture. It is especially suita-
ble for designs with not too much detail. Rough paper is also what I tend to use.
Usually beginners prefer cold-pressed watercolor paper.

TIP 8:
Find a size of paper that suits you. Some people like to work on a large scale,
others prefer to paint on a small scale.

TIP 9:
The bristles of a new brush are often kept together with a thin layer of wax. Wash
this off with a little soap and water before you start using your new brush.

TIP 10:
A hair dryer is handy to keep on hand to shorten the watercolor drying time.

TIP 11:
Start with the lighter colors and build layer upon layer to
obtain darker areas. It is not possible to paint with a light
shade over dark paint.

TIP 12:
When you’re painting on a hot summer day, your paper will
dry much more quickly. Keep an atomiser filled with tap
water on hand, to wet certain areas of your painting again
if needed.
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TIP 13:
If you messed up or used too much
paint, then grab a paper towel and blot
the excess off your paper.

TIP 14:
Paining exercise: Choose an inspiring
picture of a landscape or another subject
that interests you and try to paint it using
just a few colors.

TIP 15:
Your color will often look darker when your paper is still wet, but will fade lighter
when dried.

TIP 16:
Squeeze your eyes a little while painting, it will help distinguish contrast. This way
you prevent your painting from becoming too flat.

TIP 17:
Be critical of your own work. Put your work in a place where you can look at it
from time to time and after a while you will automatically know if improvements or
changes are needed.

TIP 18:
There are no quick ways to master watercolors. The only thing that really helps is
practice as often as possible, preferably every day!

TIP 19:
Before you start painting, make a tonal value study (black-and-white sketch), in
which you indicate the most important light, dark and midtones of the scene.
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TIP 20:
If your painting is messed up, and if you’re using a good quality paper, turn the
sheet and just start over on the other side.

TIP 21:
If the paint of your watercolor is drying slightly, you can achieve nice effects by
adding salt. You can use table salt, bath salt or coarse sea salt for this. Depending
on the grain size, you get different effects.

TIP 22:
Regularly take a step back and review
your work to see what has been the
outcome so far and what the next
step is.

TIP 23:
Dare to make dark areas in your paint-
ing really dark. Feel free to exaggerate
and make the contrast between light
and dark greater than in reality. You
watercolor painting will be much more
exciting to look at.

TIP 24:
Think in advance about what you want
to say with a painting. Emphasize that
and subordinate or omit elements that
distract from your main subject.

TIP 25:
It is often more exciting to leave things out, you should not paint everything you
see.
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TIP 26:
Think of the watercolor paper as an extra color on your palette and make use of it.
This means that you should already know exactly where the highlights should be,
before you start painting.

TIP 27:
If you mix pigments to get a particular color, don’t be tempted to mix them so
thoroughly that the new color becomes flat and lifeless. By partially mixing the
colors on the palette, you keep the original pigments visible and the color effect
becomes much more exciting.

TIP 28:
If soft elements such as clouds stand out too sharply against a wash, you can blur
the edges with your finger while the paint is still wet.

TIP 29:
Sometimes a speck of paint will end up in the air. No problem, you can turn this
into a bird later on.
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TIP 30:
When painting a landscape, don’t make the common mistake of getting lost in
details - see the painting as a personal interpretation of nature, not an exact rep-
resentation of it.

TIP 31:
You can use a viewfinder to make it easier to find a good composition. The edges
of the viewfinder act like a frame and help you see reality as it will appear on your
rectangular paper plane.

TIP 32:
Go outside and try
painting on location.
Whether in your back-
yard or a bench in the
park. Some people
find it very freeing to be
painting close to na-
ture.

TIP 33:
A good painting should have enough variety to hold the viewer’s attention, but
this variation should be limited and ordered to avoid confusion. A balance must be
sought between these two opposing preferences.

TIP 34:
When the composition is too symmetrical, it often becomes static and boring. An
asymmetrical composition in which two or more elements that are very different
from each other are arranged in such a way that they balance each other is often
a good solution.
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TIP 35:
A strong color, shape, structure or tonal value also stands out as a contrasting
element, even in small quantities.

TIP 36:
Use colors to create depth. The foreground can be brought forward and accentu-
ated by using warmer colors there. In the background, the colors are usually less
pronounced and seem to merge in some places.

TIP 37:
Always paint the sky first. To create unity in the colors of your landscape, repeat
the hues of the sky in those of the landscape below.

TIP 38:
After you applied a large wash for your land, you can start adding details. Just
make sure your wash is dry before painting over it.

TIP 39:
A finished watercolor painting remains fragile, so it can best be stored horizontally
and dust-free.

TIP 40:
You should frame a watercolor
painting behind glass with a
passe-partout, so that the painting
does not come into direct contact
with the glass. The place of hang-
ing is also important, avoid hanging
it in direct bright sunlight or above
a stove or radiator.
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TIP 41:
Watercolor is pre-eminently the medium of emotion. So disconnect from reality
and try to use water and paint to capture the feeling that what you see evokes in
you. If you manage to do this successfully, you will have a good watercolor painting.

TIP 42:
Use gouache white (which has an opaque consistency) to add highlights when
your painting is almost finished. It will make all the difference.

TIP 43:
Don’t forget to have fun! Enjoy seeing your creations come to life on paper. And
keep in mind that even the great artists messed up a million times to get to where
they are.

There you go, I hope you enjoyed reading my tips and that you learned a
thing or two.

Want to delve deeper into the wonderful world of watercolors?

Then one last tip...

TIP 44:
Click here to check out my affordable e-book  
“Easy Watercolor Landscapes” with
3 easy paint along painting projects
(+ bonus video tutorials).

Copyright © 2020 by Tyl Destoop. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any
electronic or mechanical means including information storage en retrieval systems without permission in writing from
the publisher. Published by Stylgraphics bv.