- Find a teacher. Ask your
local art gallery about classes; they often offer reasonable weekend
workshops or evening courses. A community college is a good place
to inquire, also. Ask about the teacher, and their teaching style;
try to find an instructor who focuses on technique. A look at the
instructor's art will be a good indication; someone who is quite
realistic in style will likely focus more on painting techniques than
someone who is very loose and impressionistic.
- Gather some supplies. For some types of
painting gear, quality counts more than others. For my recommended
list, click here.
- Time - you need an hour or so. One of
the best things about watercolor is that it is quick and portable.
Most of us can only devote an hour at a
time to a project, but that doesn't have to keep you from learning to
paint. Watercolor dries fast, and in the early stages of a
painting, when I'm laying down large washes, I may only paint for a
couple of minutes before laying it aside to plan my next step.
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- Resources. To save yourself copyright
headaches, take some reference photos to paint from, scrounge through
your photo albums, or be adventurous and paint "en plein air"
(outdoors). Magazines are good places to find painting-worthy
photographs, but you need to be careful then not to violate copyright.
Paintings created from copyrighted material should never be sold or
displayed publicly without the copyright holder's permission.
- Practice! Paint a little as often as you
can, to see consistent improvement. As you gain confidence and
experience, you will also feel more free to express yourself, and then
it really gets fun!
Silver Valley Aspens
painting by Angela Fehr |
