Watercolour painting

I'm learning to dabble in watercolours at present and finding it more user friendly than acrylics. I think I'm improving as I'm now reasonably happy with one picture in five rather than ten!

I can't master damping the paper to stretch it. It doesn't seem to make much difference, it still wobbles up when I put a wash on.

Yes it does wrinkle, a good quality heavy watercolour paper helps.

If you're going for anything under 260lbs, Nfk don't be afraid to really soak it - not just damp it, give it a good dunk in a bowl of water or the sink, drain it off and then stick it to your board with paper sticky tape on all the edges and leave it to dry. It will dry as taut as a drum and won't cockle. I agree with Pompa, a good heavy paper does help - you don't have to stretch it, but it's too expensive to be expendable when you're only happy with one effort in five! I dread to think of all the paper I binned when I started out just learning the techniques, before I even got to painting pictures.

And I'm not all that brilliant now! Really glad you're enjoying it!

Thanks. Teacher and my Christmas present book both said use a damp sponge. I'll try a wet one!

How beautiful. I can't paint but I have painted glass just for fun x

Its taken me years to realise that water colour painting is so much better when you use lovely thick paper. My flower painting is on Fabriano 3001b not paper, you don't need to stretch it and the water stays where you want it. The sheets are expensive, approx. £7.50, but you can cut them into 4 or smaller. It makes such a difference

I have decided that this year will be my watercolour year, so I have downed knitting needles, embroidery, rag tugging etc !

I work as an artist and stretch my boards like so...Soak 140lbs paper in cold water in the bath for just a few minutes so that the paper size stays put,but the paper relaxes.I let it drip off quickly and get it straight onto a board where I apply the gummed paper strips (don,t wet the gummed paper too much,I quickly skim down it with damp sponge).I then quickly staple around the board where the paper edge and gum strip overlap.I dry the paper off with a hot hair dryer, the hills and hollows disappear in front of your eyes,and the paper is ready for work

I use acrylics like water colour and often as a colour wash over a pencil drawing.
Acrylics can be very delicate,and unlike water colour,they are fixed when dry and details can be added on top,unlike water colour which lifts from the paper if re-wetted.
If I run a class,I start people on washy acrylics as I think it is much easier to use.

A bonus....if you do a water colour painting using acrylics and your lovely painting still cockles,you can take it off the board,pop it back in the bath and re-stretch it without losing your work.

The most important thing about painting and drawing,is that you enjoy doing it.

For denser use of acrylic paint I use 250/300 lbs paper,unstretched.

Re the comments on colouring books.
There are some really lovely ones now with quite intricate designs
It would really depend on the paper as to using water soluble pencils,but soft colouring pencils are always nice.
It,s very therapeutic to fill empty spaces with colour.
If I didn,t paint myself,I would enjoy doing them.

I used to paint a lot of acrylics - I even sold two or three - but I've not touched a paintbrush for at least a year as I seem to have run out of inspiration. I look in my art cupboard which is full of materials and I can't think of a thing to paint. Has anyone any hints on getting inspired, please?

Message deleted by Gransnet for breaking our forum guidelines. Replies may also be deleted.

I am trying! I find it so hard to produce what I have in my mind and I get discouraged quickly, I know I should be less self critical and just do it! I love buying all the paint's etc and get very enthusiastic until I realise that all the wonderful equipment in the world isn't going to make me Picasso! Someone has just been telling me wonderful things about Inktense pencils which you can use on fabric as well as paper, maybe these would make an artist of me..... I feel another purchase coming on?

What a lovely thread, I'll dust off my paints and have another go! It's not the result I'm pleased by but the wonderful feeling of absorption, great escapism!

Because this is our 50th year together, DH and I decided we would buy a picture to mark the occasion. We went to a local auction house to look at a piece of art pottery and saw two of the most amazing marine watercolours. Not amazing from a point of view of subject matter - they were steam ships and I favour sail - but purely from a technical execution point of view. We couldn't walk away from them. They were sold as a pair and we picked them up for about a quarter of the price they went on the market for in 1987. I just love ships and boats - we are now pictorially overloaded with ships and boats, but these are now the pride of my collection. What a wonderful medium watercolour is!

Before so much of my time was taken up with grandchildren, I did a bit of watercolour painting. I found that I was better at copying than drawing a scene from life which I seem to remember my mother preferred as well. Researching family history I found a lot of ancestors were pottery painters, presumably copying from a template. Must run in the genes!

I went to an art class to learn to paint, it turned out the model had had a mishap in her car and could not attend. As I was new to the class the tutor ask would I mind if I could sit on the stool, fully dressed as a stand-in model [i did not even know it was a life class] I followed the tutors instruction and enjoyed is much that I have been life modding for the past 30 years. However I never did learn to paint.

I used to go to an art class, and our teacher arranged a life class for us. The male model was a charming man who put us all at our ease so that we were comfortable with what we were doing. It was very interesting. I found the most difficult thing to draw were his glasses! I still have the pictures, and even one I did of DH 'in flagrante' and he made much more fuss about being a sitter!!

Lovely painting. I paint and draw but find it difficult to do at home, so I go to an art class once a week with a tutor. It's the highlight of my week - I love it. It's a popular group and the numbers are growing - we have about 15-20 at the moment.
I wish I could afford to go on painting workshops and holidays- that would be my idea of heaven.

You are all very talented ...I may have a try at watercolours sometime, but for now I have just bought one of those adult colouring books with intricate patterns. Does any know what is best to use? Good pencils, or what? The spaces are small so it needs to be a fine nib. Thanks

For the colouring in I use high quality coloured pencils that have a high pigment. You can then use them lightly, more heavily, or slightly damp.

However, although the end result is very pretty, I do find it rather boring and stopped after a while. I had understood that this would be a calming and relaxing pastime but found it to be irritating.

I like watercolour painting and drawing and oils, in fact art is my passion. Sometimes I just love colour therapy and I never worry about whether the end result is 'good enough'

You might be interested in my website Artlimousin.com

NSO is there a college near you , or somewhere you could access a model? Life or costume. The discipline of painting real people can give you real impetus.

Along with all those other arty/crafty New Year resolutions such as trying to actually sew together the patchwork quilt I started 25 years ago ( might be cushion covers now) and trying my hand at candle making,I realise I've got a load of acrylic paint tubes ( if they haven't dried out ) wax crayons, and un-used canvases somewhere in the attic...
Thanks artiarticle for the kick start. Was going to say I'll start right now but the Wales / England match is too tense at the moment (lol)