Crashing water

I got this book from the library. I planned to purchase it at the time but wanted to make sure it would work for my level first. At the time of reading it I have been using watercolors for 6 weeks. It's definitely a good book but after going through it I am not sure it is the next step that I need.  Pros There is a good section on the DVD on washes and problems with washes There are a few good basic exercises like the value and shadows exercises that I would like to work on The tip to use "contact paper" from the hardware store might save me a lot of money as I was seriously wondering whether masking film was something I needed to buy The special techniques tips are well explained and it's nice to have all the demos on the disc Cons A large amount of the book and the DVD are devoted to texturing techniques that I would consider special effects. I would have preferred to see more demonstrations (over and over again) of basic washes, charging and applying those to simpl...

 Not sure if this is more successful than my first fruit painting but I certainly thought about it more. I tried to use lifting to get the white spots on the skin (which I think worked ok) and for the reflections around the edge (which didn't really work). I also tried adding white after for the waxy white part of the skin. I know it's not recommended I just wanted to see what it would look like.

  The shiny look is due to cheap sketchbook paper that can't take any moisture. I am waiting on two Canson XL sketchbooks to be delivered - That will be exciting 😀! One is a small mixed media one and the other is the watercolor one with 30 sheets. Looking forward to trying them both.

 Videos are the best but I still like learning from books. I purchased a few. I get some in physical form from the library and I get a lot of books in e-book form from the library.  I am currently working though the following books of tutorials to improve my technique. Everyday Watercolor, Jenna Rainey I am just starting  this one  now. It starts out simple but looks like it builds to a good level of challenge. I have been struggling a bit lately so I am looking forward to working through some simple exercises to build confidence. Watercolor Basics: Let's get started, Jack Reid This book has a lot of tutorials. It starts by drilling 4 methods: Flat wash Graduated wash Wet-in-wet Drybrush I like this book a lot and should write a full review. It just went back to the library so it will be a few weeks until I have it back. 101 Watercolor Techniques, Parramón Editorial Team I got this in my order of bargain books. It's actually pretty good. The exercises are basica...

 I followed a  moon tutorial by Whitehouse Art  today. This was fun to do and I think it came out quite well for a first try with this looser style. Things that were new or mostly new to me: Using Prussian Blue Splattering paint drips: I had tried very timidly before Using white Gouache to cover up a mistake (only worked a bit) Materials used Fluid watercolor block 8x8 sheet Staedtler watercolors + Winsor and Newton Cotman Turquoise mixed to make the teal. Lessons learned I worked hard to get the shape of the moon nice and clean since I have taken to heart the lesson that good lines are the start of a good piece of art. I am not happy with the coverage of the Pebeo Studio Gouache white. This is one budget purchase I regret so there's an order on the way with a Winsor and Newton Permanent White as a replacement. At least the Pebeo Goauche seems to splatter ok. Here's the result

  Today I did two projects from the "101 Watercolor techniques" book. Both turned out quite well with some caveats. Number 3 - Cool monochromes The exercise is about mixing Burnt Sienna and Ultramarine to get variations in color. I struggled to get enough reddish brown to display so I had to do a second wash in places to get a nice final result. That was a bit of a cop out but I figured by struggling I had learned a bit of the lesson anyway. Number 4 - Warm monochromes This one is about letting two warm colors mix on the paper. In retrospect I should have done more of that with number 3 as well. This exercise also mostly worked except I didn't get the veins painted until the yellow paint was getting to dry. As a result they look a bit added on - as they are.

This exercise is from the Strathmore Watercolor Basics pad. It was the first time I tried lifting with paper towel and the first time I used a mix of Ultramarine and cerulean blues to create a sky. I was happy with the way the Cerulean blue covers or fills in some of the granulation you get from Ultramarine. This version is actually a test but it worked better than my attempt at the full exercise.