Basic Watercolor Techniques 1 - Flat Washes
Vložit
- čas přidán 11. 08. 2014
- This episode kicks off a multi-part series on painting various types of watercolor washes. In this first installment I cover the basics of applying a perfectly flat, even wash, foundational in learning how to apply all sorts of washes. Brush size and even moisture control are key and I demonstrate those aspects.
** Affiliate Links **
(As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Thanks for looking.)
Silver Brush Black Velvet #10 round - amzn.to/1YrU6UO
Princeton Neptune #8 round - amzn.to/1Xtk6Pp
Master's Touch #14 round from Hobby Lobby
Arches paper - amzn.to/1YrUmTw
My Amazon Store of Favorite Products:
www.amazon.com/shop/mindofwat...
I don't actively solicit merchandise or brand sponsorships like many CZcamsrs. Instead I made a decision to ask if viewers would become my sponsors. If you would like to be a Minder Patron, I would be honored. You would be taking a tangible role in making this content possible. Head over to Patreon and sign up today. / mindofwatercolor
--------------------------------
Buy Prints of My Paintings:
fineartamerica.com/profiles/5-...
Subscribe:
czcams.com/users/subscribe_widg...
Follow me on Facebook:
smitchelldes...
Follow me on Twitter:
/ smitchelldesign
Picking great watercolor paper. A great place to start.
• How to Pick Great Wate...
Introduction to the Mind of Watercolor
• Introduction to the Mi...
The Mind of Watercolor Web Page
mindofwatercolor.com
Steve Mitchell Design
stevemitchelldesign.com
Royalty Free Music provided via Pond5
www.pond5.com - Jak na to + styl
I'm so glad I found this channel soon after I took up watercolor again, after a LONG absence. When I tried learning decades ago, there were only books available, and most of them aren't worth the money, because they don't explain the basic techniques very well. When I was a kid, I did a lot of coloring with crayons and without thinking much about it, I tried to apply the same techniques to watercolor.
There are a lot of other watercolor channels out there, but this series has everything - I've never failed to find a tutorial here that hasn't helped me and been about the exact topic I'm wanting to learn about. It's all here: great painting, great details, terrific teaching techniques and narratives, and humor!
You're my go-to guy, Steve, and I appreciate your series more than words can say. You've given all of us the gift of your time and talent - the Universe will re-pay you many times over!
***Beginners***watch this video. You have more to learn than you know!! That VERY common mistake Steve makes at the end, is my entire painting style. Dang. I can’t believe how much I learn here. *I’ve been using too small of a brush in order to “control” the watercolor & blotchiness is my reward.* I have wondered why others use such big brushes. Now I know, thanks to you, that there is actually a right size brush for each situation. You got such an even application of paint that it’s perfect. If you want to imagine my work just look at your “everything done wrong example.”
I JUST happened across your 2014 beginners video. Watching it now.
I am a real newbie . Absolutely no experience, but watercolor painting has caught my attention.
I look forward to traveling the " Mind of watercolor " journey with you.
Oh, I am 84 years old, so go slowly.
Thank you for becoming a part of my life.....
Good for you!!! I'm a beginner from last summer and almost 70... never done any painting before but enjoying watercolor!!! So thankful for MoW - Steve Mitchell!!! A California Gramma ♥️
@@annenglish2935 Well, suppose I will be the third to say I stumbled across this and also decided watercolor was my new destiny. Oh, I am 73. Hope you get this and hope we can take this trip together. Perhaps we can laugh, cry, encourage and just get there together. Cissy
I've watched this a few times, and get more each time. I'm getting better, thank you!
I never comment on video, but i just wanted to say that i appreciate these lessons and I’m looking forward to the future ones i haven’t seen yet!
I share your tutorials with my friends all the time, and I always have to remember what you teach so I'm like a bad penny, and just keep coming back. Thanks for being here.
Love, love, love Silver Black Velvet brushes!
Absolute beginner here and just discovered your channel. This is my first video and I subscribed before watching even two minutes of it, because I can already tell that you're an amazing teacher. Thank you x
"Don't starve the brush". Mind. Blown. I've gone back to traditional inking for a weekly project and I've learned to go back to my inkwell with my nib pen before it runs out, but that phrase is *perfect*. I am guilty of starving my watercolor brush. Thank you again for another great lesson.
Steve, You Get It! Thanks for sharing with all your fans and beginners, and beginner-beginners!
Thank you, mr watercolor Bob Ross :3 I just wanted to do some simple flat washing pictures to goof around so this is great.
Thank you so much! Keepin’ it real. No fluff just techniques. Exactly what I needed.
I am a beginner - this lesson was VERY valuable - no pun intended. Thank You
This is exactly what I needed to know. Thank you Steve!!!
You are so right about paper quality! I have struggled with that wood pulp stuff for a long time and finally realized that, if I did learn how to do anything on that, what I learned would not carry over when working on good paper. I have switched to cotton paper and everything is so much easier to do. I am now going back and revisiting the basics so am very grateful for this series.
I'm a beginner also and realized I'm not getting better on cheap paper... maybe some is OK for bookmarks, which were fine, but I have to use my cotton paper which I've stored up for a year!!! A California Gramma ♥️
I just got into Adult Coloring this past year and have been branching out to try new stuff and just started wanting to learn Watercoloring. I know it is supposed to be a free and breezy art form but it is hard for me to learn that way. This very basic skill tutorial is SOOO helpful to me so I can learn good techniques. Thanks for taking the time to teach the basics!
Thank you, thank you, thank you! Finally I've found someone who teaches the very basics in a clear, concise way! Your videos are the best beginner's tutorials I've found, and believe me, I've been searching! I do acrylics and other media, but until very recently have shied away from watercolor because it's, as you say, got a mind of its own and takes practice! If you don't master the basics, forget about it--these practice sessions are a must for the serious beginner who wants to master the medium! Thanks again, teacher!
I asked Chat GPT to make me a course for watercolour. One of the suggested resources was your channel! I am so glad I’ve found it- the videos are nice and short, your explanations are simple, yet foundational and important, and the activities are fun. I enjoy your demeanour and passion for watercolour as well as the ‘life lessons’ throughout- ‘you don’t set out to make people who you want them to be- learn who they are’ .. ‘people mistake its unforgiving nature for something they just don’t understand’. Im loving getting to know watercolour and its nature! Thank you thank you!!
Wow! That’s a new one!
So happy I found you. I’m a beginner and watching you I found out I paint to dry. I started out with cannon paper and wasn’t doing well when you mentioned there was a huge difference on the arches Paper I pulled out a piece to see if there was a difference.The arches was an amazing difference. Looked great on arches and on the cannon it was all splotchy..
Thank you! I'm a beginner and haven't heard this before... about keeping your brush wet and an appropriate size for the area... I also have to start using my Arches that I've been storing (anytime I found a deal... sold!) so I can learn how it behaves. It's just like starting over for me... love your videos all the way through to a special message. A California Gramma ♥️
These exercises of yours are so useful and I’m going to have a sketchbook full of your exercises. Thank you.
Wonderful series. This was my first live painting experience since 1992 and it went exactly as I hoped it would. Thanks.
I've been trying forever to find a video showing me how to apply watercolour within complex shapes! Thank you so much... Brilliant video :-)
+Leah Cameron Glad it was a help! Thanks!
@ Ann G - Paint that runs outside the lines is usually running into another wet area. To have a crisp clean lines the paper must be bone dry except where you are putting your paint. Hope that helps.
The Mind of Watercolor Thank you for the wonderful tip! I find your videos very helpful keep them coming :D
Kerstina m
Enjoyed the video would like to know how you determine how much pigment to water ratio.
Just how do you do that?
I have tried but can't seem to get that "perfect " wash. I either put too much water and not enough pigment or too much pigment and not enough watee, ugh. I also use arch 100% cotton. Please advise, thanks 😊
Have watched a lot of watercolour videos and compared them, but without a doubt yours is the best. I've just come back to painting after too many years and perhaps I enjoy yours so much is because I too like the precision of doing watercolour - i.e, glazing and layering each colour until you get it just right -- it's that meditative aspect that I enjoy. This is not a medium for the impatient. I still have a lot to learn but I just finished one small painting (a card of pansies) and while it turned out quite well, the mistakes I made were all one you would have warned me against! I will practice and practice! I am in Canada and we do not have a wholesale paint store here but I finally found one that is reasonable. For example, most places charge $70 for Arches watercolour paper. The store I found sells a pad for about $20.00. Keep those videos coming. I don't think an art class would teach me as much as what I've learned so much. Thank you for sharing your great talent with all of your "minders" out here! Molly from the great white north...:)
Thanks so much Maureen!
I've been looking for good / great total-beginner tutorials on CZcams. This is the best I've found. Besides this exercise, your comments / verbal instruction is in depth and really makes this a fantastic learning experience. Many many thanks!
Steve, Thank You So Much! Every book I've read tells me that I have to paint a wash by going across and catching the bead, but following the leading edge makes so much more sense. Also, the tip about getting more paint on the brush BEFORE you need it is something that no one mentions in books or videos. Thanks Again!
+Jon Oldham You're welcome, thanks for the comments!
Another great video for a beginner! Thank you!!
ahhh okay, I need a bigger brush 🤦♀️it's so easy to think that the smaller the brush, the more control you have - but just another example of the mind of watercolor and getting to know this medium - thanks!
Hi Steve, you really are a good teacher. You show us the reasons and the results and you make it understandable. Thanks so much. And by the way, has anyone told you that you have lovely, artistic hands? Such sure, smooth movements. I'm almost 70 and getting a bit shaky, but I soldier on. I like silver linings, maybe I can put a tremor to best advantage in tree branches. Best wishes.
Thank you very much for these videos, Steve! I've always sketched in pencil, and I'm trying to develop my ability to paint. It's a thrill to use colour, but my first few attempts have been disappointing. After watching this video I have a much better idea what I've been doing wrong.
Thanks so much for this. It is extremely helpful and timely. :)
Thank you for this series. I'm amazed at how much I learned.
This is very helpful. I'm a very good colored pencil artist, and I want to try watercolors. Frustration abounds! But you just showed me what I've been doing wrong for flat washes. No books can explain this the way a good demo does. Thank you!
Glad it was a help.
Thank you Steve for making all of your videos. I sincerely enjoy them and I’m so impressed by your talent. I really enjoy Reese too. Again, thank you!
This is the first video I should have watched! I am very glad I found it. Just such a good basic lesson. Thanks Steve.
So true about beginning fresh every morning.
Excellent explanation! I really love the title of your channel as well.
Thank you so much for making this youtube channel. I used to be part of art classes in college and was always learning new things about art but since then it has been very hard to find any sort of watercolour instruction. Your channel is keeping me motivated so I don't give up because of how difficult this medium is to learn. Your comments on how it differs from oil and acrylic really helped me. Thank you for making this free for people who love water color and want to learn but don't have other opportunities!
I've just subscribed and want to thank you for your generosity and kindness in sharing your talent and offering instruction to those of us just learning. I learned so much in this first lesson on flat washes!! In the past year I've been learning a wet on dry technique...very detailed and realistic. This is a big departure from that but something that I really want to learn. Thank you.
I am learning so much from your videos. thank you for sharing them. I am new to watercolor painting, but love it as a medium. I will continue to look for your teaching videos!
Wow! Thank you!!
Essential basic, and one that I'm struggling with. Makes whole loads more sense now. Thanks 😁
I'm so glad you explained this process so well... I have been having a terrible time trying to do this, and always end up with hard edges somewhere. Thank you.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge and for explaining what watercolor really are. You are a great teacher! Thank you
Thanks so much for this series Steve, watching all of them now :)
Hello Steve and Reece! Thank you!
Thank you for this awesome tutorial!!!
Thank you for these lessons.
Excellent! Thanks!
Excellent! Thank you.
learned so much! brush control, brush size.. leading edge.. even wetness. I love it!
+jessica Glad to hear it. Thanks!
Need to practise this pretty much!
Can't thank you enough for your superb videos..!
Excellent video thank you!
Ah, I needed that! Very helpful!
Hi, Steve.
I just wanted to say that I think you are such an amazing guy. Honesty, and I am kind of shocked by that revelation. You're very much out of the box in your teaching style, but that is a wonderful thing! I am not an artist, but I am a visual art fan and collector. I am also very new to water colors. But you cut across interests and disciplines with your intriguing way of connecting seemingly unrelated topics with these water color classes; science, philosophy, psychology, sociology, theology, and of course education are all part of your CZcams experience. Thanks so much, and keep inspiring us!!!!
Very intriguing, encouraging and kind words. Thanks Terry and thanks for watching.
I am new to watercolor and really enjoying your sessions. Appreciate your style and ease of explanation. I especially love your Scriptures at the end of each tutorial. Thank you. Looking forward to catching up on your teachings although it may be a slow process for me. 😊
Very helpful, thank you!
Thank you. You are the best.. God bless you for sharing..
New subscriber! Love what I'm learning, so much to binge on!
Good advice. Will definitely practice. Dana
Good teaching and insight
Your a natural and I much enjoyed your open style of presentation. I trust others have benefited from the instruction.
Bill Stamford Thanks so much, and thanks for watching!
I need to get myself some new brushes, thank you for yet another wonderful lesson!
Hi Steve
I am new to watercolour and I enjoy your videos very much. You are a great teacher.
Continue you good work
Claude
decarie1000 Will do, thanks Claude.
this is one of the most useful watercolor tips I've seen to date - thanks!
Awesome, thanks!
Your videos are great. It's like being in a watercolour class!
Thank you
I'm on my second watercolor lesson with you. I love it!!!!! Can't wait to catch all the way up to current lessons. Suzi Buck
Sir your the best one out there...... thank you 🙏
This was an amazing tutorial!!! Thank you so much ❤️ I have one request 🙈 if you could make a few more videos on the basics of watercolour especially for beginners I'd be so grateful ❤️❤️ thanks
Thanks so much for your useful and practical tips for better results. Please keep the videos coming.
👍
Just watch and learn,it’s So easy an fun !” Thanks 🙏 Ronnie j Martinez
Fantastic!
LOVED THIS! Wish I would have done this 2 months ago! Thank you!
Love your videos! I can relate to you so much, I have 3 kids and 4 grandchildren. Haven't picked up a paintbrush in almost 40 years and I am having a blast getting back my mojo. Watercolor was always my favorite medium. Thank you for what you do!
+mbdmimi cool! Glad you're back at it. Thanks for watching!
Just tried this, and much better!
👍
Thank you very much for your videos! I've been watching many of them today and they are very helpful! I'm willing to start trying watercolors out and you are clarifying many of my doubts :)
Ah, you are also very charismatic :)
have a nice day!
Exactly the video and instruction I needed at exactly the right time..I’m trying to make color wheels on Joe Cartwright’s channel, I can’t get a little rectangle even!
Thank you Steve! This video helped me tremendously! I finally have a nice even wash and gradient. Your explanations helped me more than any other video, and I've watched a lot lately! Just starting out, but I was doing exactly what you did in your "what not to do" example. I watched this, then immediately tried again and "voila"!
Courtney Richie Great! Glad to hear it was a help. Thanks for watching!
Learned a lot
I am enjoying going from start to finish in viewing many of your videos. Thanks so much☺️
👍
this was a great lesson
You are awesome!
thanks again
Awesome, I learned so much about why this is happening! (Uneven drying of the paint) Thank you so much!
+Hermione Jarvis you bet!
Thank you for such a clear and helpful video!
+Cheryl turtlemoon 👍
I'm just starting, so these are extremely helpful. Having enough water and paint on my brush has been the problem. I also need a bigger brush!
I love watching your videos!
Thanks, appreciate you watching!
Thank you so much for the great beginner video and for sharing your knowledge with us.
+Snow Sylvia Sure thing, thanks for watching!
Thank you. I appreciate a good teacher!
👍
Super helpful!
+Carol Melancon 👍
Thanks Steve. Wish I had watched this oh about 10 year ago. Jut started back on watercolours after a few years off. Your videos are great.
Fion RK Thank you! Glad you're back at it again.
With my paper at a 20 degree incline I lead the bead to the bottom in smooth horizontal strokes. I dont dab when doing washes other than to add more pigment and water so my bead remains consistantly at the bottom of the wash.
That's a coincidence,I bought a couple of Princeton faux squirrel brushes last week 👍 thanks for another lovely demo Steve.
You're welcome! Yes, love the Princeton Neptune Series.
Hi there. As a beginner I think you are wonderful instructor. Thanks for all the info I really enjoy watching you paint. I'v wanted to always learn to watercolor and after watching your video's I think I can do this! I'll be watching again. Keep it coming...
bebe4 Go for it. You can do it! Thanks for watching.
ı really enjoy your videos!
This is really helpful! I am so glad that your channel is growing so fast! :)
Thanks! Glad its a help.
Thanks!
Thanks so much for the support!