Wednesday 29 June 2016

WOYWW 369 - watercolors

Good morning deskers,

Here we are again snooping at each others desks. Please join us at What On Your Workdesk Wednesday with a photo of what you have been up to. Lunch Lady Jan has temporarily taken over from our head desker Julia. This is the link.

What have I been up to? This is what my desk looks like:
I've only got a small desk in our living room (my craft room is being tiled.) so not much space. But this week I have been looking at water color tutorials as I really want to have a go at using watercolors. I bought a box of cheap watercolors and brushes (probably not a good idea to buy cheap ones...) and I am in the process of making a tonal swatch.
 It's a Youtube video by esperoart (in English). I've also read a website called 'watercolor painting and projects' .They do several pages about basics for beginners

Last week I showed you the Flow magazine Special Edition about learning to draw. I'm going to use some watercolors there.
Tentatively...

Now that I have read the watercolor basics, I have learnt that it is better to buy good quality watercolor paint because I only need a few colors, as all other colors can be made with those (and they teach how to do that). So please, any of you who know about these things... any advice will be gladly received. Websites, brands, even an online course. Any advice is welcome. I have also noticed that Winsor & Newton have a cheap range called Cotman colors. Any good?

Before I go, here is the postcard that arrived yesterday from Bavaria in Germany. It's an antique dolls house (non specified):
I thought it was real cute. (For anyone interested in receiving and sending postcards, here is the link to Postcrossing.)

Happy WOYWW and have a great week all of you,
Greetings from sunny Spain,
Lisca


27 comments:

  1. I love watercolour painting but am not very good at it. I should have a look at some tutorials like you. I hope you have fun practising anyway!
    Thanks for your lovely comment today, it really helps :-)
    Hugs, LLJ xxx

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  2. I have cheap watercolours and good ones and I use the cheap ones for colouring quick sketches - they just have less pigment so don't get disheartened coz it's what you produce with them that matters. Any help - I have Cotman from W&N but I am not a traditional watercolourist. I hope you don't mind but I have saved the image of the postcard - it has that nostalgic feel that I love. Have a happy week x Jackie 14

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  3. School run done. Milly taken out for wee. Coffee made. Time to visit my fav blogs before customers arrive....I hope :-)
    Like with most crafts....I've got the paint and paper etc to do watercolour painting but just don't have the time lol. One day maybe? Have fun learning.
    Hugs,
    Annie x #8

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  4. Good luck with teaching yourself to watercolour - looks like you've made a brilliant start. I love the dolls house postcard too - it must be lovely to send and receive postcards around the globe. Happy crafting, Max #23 :-)

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  5. That is on my loooong list of things I want to do too. Great job on the swatches. Elaine no. 20

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  6. Hi Lisca, I think the matter of quality will depend on how much you enjoy and want to keep up the watercolouring. If you find you really love it, then investing in quality will be worth it. Windsor and Newton are a big name brand in the art world, so I would expect them to be very good. Have you tried looking on Amazon for supplies? They tend to generally be more reasonable with delivery charges than many others. Have a great week, Hugs, Shaz #6 xxx

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  7. Busy looking desk this week, you are on a creative roll!

    Happy WOYWW

    Kathyk
    #16

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  8. Ik vind het zelf maar een lastig medium: aquarel verf, maar mijn lief heeft heel lang met het spul gewerkt en had/heeft alles van windsor & newton... maar veel meer weet ik er dus niet van dus anderen hebben misschien betere tips. In ieder geval veel plezier met deze nieuwe uitdaging! Liefs uit zonnig (nog wel) Zeeland, Marit #27

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  9. Hello Lisca. I still am in love with your drawings and I to only have cheap water colour paints but good brushes and my daughters college was clearing out there art supplies and she picked me up a ton for cheap. I wish I could give you advice but I am still learning and haven't done it in sometime but my youngest grabbed then a few months back for the first time ever and poof painted a stunning picture. Thanks for visiting my blog earlier and have a fantastic week. Hugs ~Anne L#4

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  10. Lovely Bavarian postcard - thanks for sharing these.
    I am well impressed with your cuppa on your drawing page - now that you have added something inside it it looks good enough to drink. Keep it up, practice practice practice - even if only 10 minutes per day - but don't miss a day.
    Hugs, Neet 7 xx

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  11. I love watercoloring, for the most part I just use my water based ink pads as my water colors, then they co-ordinate with my card stock. That being said - have you heard of Art impressions? https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4l-SypzN-d4f2ifD8peQMDxONGru7ZFg
    They have a watercolor wednesday series with their (very easy) water color method.
    All that said I hear from most - the best water color paints are Kuretake Gansai Tambi.
    Going to share the doll house link with my friend who makes beautiful doll houses! Blessings, Donna #9

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  12. I have some watercolor pencils and crayons and they're by PrismaColor. Good quality. After seeing you play I may have to get mine out! Hope your room tiling goes quickly! Thanks for the visit and Happy WOYWW!
    Carol N #28

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  13. Hi Lisca, I use watercolours though not in the traditional manner but the cheaper ones will have less of the colour pigments in them. I use water colour pencils quite a lot and my favourites are Derwent Aquatone which are just a solid stick of water-soluble colour without the wooden covering that you normally get on pencils so very versatile. You can even scrap colour off them and use them like Brushos. Thanks for the visit to mine and have a great woyww and happy crafting, Angela x 15

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  14. Well done getting started with watercolours, Lisca, and I love your teacup!! (Just my cup of tea, lol!) I've dabbled a bit, and like others, use watercolour pencils and Inktense pencils, and I often use distress inks as watercolours too. The little doll's house is just gorgeous! Delightful. Thank you for your visit and your lovely comment - so glad you like my new baby card, and thank you for taking the trouble to catch up with my blog. There's quite a lot on there, and well done getting through the whole Brexit post!! Lots to think about, isn't there.

    Have a great week, and happy WOYWW,
    Shoshi #38

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  15. Love the postcard.
    Good luck with the watercolours, I really admire you taking on the challenge
    Lynn //13 xx

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  16. Thanks for your visit earlier .... Little Soldier is our only grandson and the only grandchild we see. Our eldest is out in the world, she is very busy but we talk by text sometimes.
    I watercolour but mainly on ATCs, and have a variety of makes for both brushes and paints although I do tend to stick to those that make me feel happy.
    Have a good week
    Christine
    aka Bishopsmate #34

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  17. Hello Lisca, I highly recommend buying the best quality w/c paint. Cotman are student grade and much better to buy artist quality. Winsor & Newton and Daniel Smith are my fave. You are right about only needing a couple of colours and would recommend http://janeblundellart.blogspot.com.au/ She reviews w/c and has great information for those of us starting out. Also buy quality paper it makes such a difference. I use cheaper paper for quick sketches and playing around but all my paintings are done on the best - Arches. Sometimes cheaper to buy a large sheet and then tear it to size you need. If you don't like the painted result you then have artwork for craft backgrounds. Nothing gets wasted. another blog I recommend is http://www.lizsteel.com/ . Another Ozzie sketcher who is currently in Italy doing workshops she is wonderful, full of information and sketches the everyday cup of tea or coffee. Keep painting the more we do the better we become. Have a lovely week.
    sandra de @21

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  18. Such a great little space. It looks so happy with all the colors. I love the post card. I have always enjoyed miniatures.
    April #26

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  19. Have fun with the watercolor paints! Thanks for visiting my blog!

    Greetings, Sofie #5
    http://sofie-s-world.blogspot.be

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  20. Good luck with the water colouring.....I don't do it so really don't know. Looks like you've got a bit of advice going here:) And I bet you can't wait to get back into your scrap room!!!

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  21. I have Windsor and Newton watercolours and several sets of Reeves artist ones, in cake form though not tubes.

    I find tubes dry and just are not good value.. But to be honest Lisca I did a post last week on watercolours using Distress ink and I found these as good as any expensive lot of paints..
    As I said I dont like tubes I like cakes..

    ... these ones pasted link below.. are very expensive but highly recommended by folks in the know, they are Japanese and they do make superb quality. But cost heaps. I think it is good to get more than just a few colours cos although true in theory not always true in practice..

    http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/New-Kuretake-Gansai-Japanese-watercolor-paint-36-color-set-Free-Postage-s-f-/322051127034?hash=item4afbbe36fa:g:-g4AAOSwu4BVyW77

    hope that helps. Look up Jennifer McGuire using these paints
    Happy belated WOYWW! Shaz in Oz.x #52

    {Shaz in Oz – Calligraphy Cards}

    some from you tube
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcAMtOPaju0
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcPGmZKQUic

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  22. Lisca, thanks so much for stopping by my blog yesterday! I meant to come have a peek at your post yesterday, and ran out of time! Thank you for the links to the watercolor information. I love to watercolor, but I must confess that I am NO authority on it, so I will go have a look at what I am sure will be helpful material! I love what you are doing in your Flow book, it is really coming along! I just want to say that I peeked at Tuesday's post and I am SOOOOO envious of that cheesecake!!! It looked SCRUMPTIOUS! Cheesecake is one of my favorite things to eat! It looked too pretty to cut!!! LOLOL Many blessings to you for a wonderful weekend! :) Felicia, #36

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  23. What a fun look around your space today. I don't have any advice on the watercolor, but I do know not to buy cheap brushes, I just threw a set away because they shed so badly on the very first use. Glad I popped by. Susanne #33

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  24. Hi Lisca, Ha ha, yes we are both doing watercolour stuff! Sandra de knows more about it than me! She gave me a lovely set of watercolours that she didn't need! If I was buying any, I would go with a good brand (Daniel Smith is one of them, but there are plenty of others). Also, it's nice to have a few good brushes. It's horrible when the cheap ones shed their bristles. A good blog to have a look at (which Sandra also recommends is Liz Steel, a watercolour artist (and previously an architect), here in Australia. If you can't find, let me know and I will send you a link.
    RosA

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  25. It's fun working with watercolour paints. I find that it's best to start very lightly yen slowly build up to the richer colours and for me it's how soft the brush is to work with. Some of the cheaper brushes you might have to trim to get a good tip on it
    Hugs Nikki 1

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  26. Super post card and good luck with the watercolours. Yes our son's drum kit resides normally in the front room at home, this was a rare occasion we had to move it all to the church for the service! So yes he practices at home and his teacher comes to our house as well. Well I'd love to see your mountains out your window, as we just have houses round us. Been finding lots of local roads which have been resurfaced recently, the council must have had a spurge in the area! Thanks for visiting me BJ#24

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  27. Love what you're doing. Hope the watercolours go well. Sorry I'm late, not been so good, now dashing round and catching up! Take care Zo xx 29

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