I spent today painting a duck from a photo I found on Unsplash. It took all day because I did two versions: one in watercolour (Qor paints on 640gsm Saunders Waterford CP paper) and the other in oils on a canvas board. I’ve only just got the oil paints and don’t know what I’m doing yet but am just having a go anyway!

The watercolour duck is the much better version, I think. Oil version in the comments.

Hi everyone! I just started learning watercolor and I've attached 3 pieces I've worked on recently.

Since I'm totally new to this, I'd love some honest, constructive criticism from more experienced artists here. What are the biggest things I should focus on improving right now? Any tips on brush control, water management, or technique would be hugely appreciated!

I followed tutorials! The first two are from Hannah M paints and the third one is from New England School of Fine Arts.

Thanks in advance! 🙏

Hi. I bought these from Aldi but im finding the colours aren't great. Very light colours, but ive seen other watercolours in more vibrant shades. Is it because its a student set?

This will be in my art mail for next month i guess.

Watercolor after a recent visit.

I spent many hours painting this in watercolor embellishments in ink. It is 8”x10” in size.

This was difficult even though it’s Grade 1 (beginners) in Geoff Kersey’s tutorial series.

I did a few things differently from the tutorial because I am actually in Venice. I look at this scene every day when I go on a walk. I wanted this painting to look more like JMW Turner’s Venice paintings (meaning more atmosphere). That’s why it was hard. I nailed the sky (finally, after six years of painting!) and on this horrid paper, too. I never thought I’d be so lucky.

Colors used: pyrrole orange, Indian yellow, cobalt blue, light red, rose madder, burnt siena, ultramarine blue

Paper: the dreaded Fabriano Artistico 100% cotton cold press (I’m trying to use this up. I hate this paper! I bought some Arches rough recently)

I can’t even put into words how much I enjoyed painting these Sphynx cats! 🥹💗

Quite pleased with how this captured the light through the leaves. It was a beautiful day - the sky was actually more or less that color. The orange parts are ~1/4 gouache\3/4 watercolor, the tree trunks are watercolor with pencil, sky is pencil and ink. On Arches 130lb hot press

reminds me of my dad’s favorite poem Ode to a Grecian Urn

He's really rocking that haircut haha. Just a bit of practice, was more interested in capturing the emotion, the colors, the motion, rather than going into too much anatomical detail. I think in order to become an actual master, one has to learn how to add " mistakes " which don't look intentional at all. Any criticism is welcome :)

And, reminder for beginners, this medium takes years to master! I know for me the process was long and slow, but ever since I got a hold of watercolours, I never once abbadoned them. The most versatile and expressive of the mediums, in my opinion. Never give up, dear reader ^^

I've been on an obsessive rabbit hole into colour.

Stumbling across potters pink was an excellent introduction to understanding how pigments are more than just their hue. potters is a muted fairly unexciting blush pink, with low tinting strength and requires a fair amount of time to wet and activate. it's so unimpressive Jane blundell says something along the lines of it sadly being of limited use. and yet, it's super granulating, and in mixes takes the hyper saturated edge off other colours.

Some wonderful points I want to remember:

- both the pigment hue (ie colour) and the pigment particles come into play (eg size, molecular structure, etc effects mixing, separating granulation etc)

- learning a small number of pigments in depth is exciting, full of play, and much more rewarding than buying more colours. Once you know a small number in depth it becomes easy to imagine the mixes and predict the effects, and then easily learn more

- pigment stories, histories and chemistry are utterly fascinating, eg Prussian blue and it's reversible fading, eg the splitting of oil into organic pigments in the automotive industry inexplicably created the 'stained glass on paper' purity and clarity of quinacridones, phthalos etc

- a mix of transparents gives a darker black than opaques (see final two photos from hazel soans book)

- paint paint paint and play; use up your art supplies, become a playful painter, not a collector of supplies

- pigment technology is chemistry

References:

Jane blundell

Liz steele

Handprint

Hazel soan - art of the limited palette

being a nerd about colour - https://www.reddit.com/u/South_Analyst5900/s/AlRQNOK7e6

jacksons art - a guide to pigments YouTube video