It's WATERCOLOR WEDNESDAY!
One thing I love about watercolor paint is that there are so many different kinds to try! I also love the easy clean-up of watercolor paint. Usually, you just have to rinse and wipe! Wait a minute . . . that sounds gross. (Forgive me for trying to insert a little humor. I recently listened to Ellen Degeneres' Seriously . . . I'm Kidding.)
Anyway, watercolor paint is readily available and easy to clean up.
Today, I am sharing my watercolor playtime, using a set of Pelikan Opaque Watercolors, Made in Germany. I ordered my set of 24 colors from Amazon.com, and apparently, I ordered the children's version. I am a fan of children's art supplies, so I am not bothered. Plus, I prefer circles over squares.
Image Credit: DickBlick.com
Note: Children's version (above) might not be lightfast.
Image Credit: Pelikan.com
The beginner to advanced version says it is "highly light proof".
BRIANA'S PLAYTIME WITH PELIKAN OPAQUE WATERCOLORS
The Box
Since the box was not shown when I ordered this paint on Amazon.com, I was a little surprised to see the pink and blue elephants. Oh, well!
I ordered the set of 24. There are two trays, stacked on top of one another.
I like the color orange, I mean, I like the color labels inside the trays.
I am pleased with the variety of color choices.
Time to GET STARTED
I grabbed my paintbrush holder, which has a variety of brushes inside. Some are specifically intended for watercolor paint.
I ended up using a large, round, size 20, Blick Scholastic brush for all of my painting. I really wanted to try out this brush, and I am really happy with it!
Pictured here is a 9x12 Canson Mix Media journal, a Canson 140 lb. watercolor pad, a water bowl, and the opaque watercolor paint set by Pelikan.
I tried a few different brush strokes and patterns in the 9x12 journal. I noticed that the wet-on-wet technique on this paper made the paper pill a little. (See my previous post about reviews of this paper here.)
After a little more playing around, I decided to switch to the Canson 140 lb. Watercolor paper, cold pressed (slightly rough, not smooth).
The wet-on-wet technique worked much better on actual watercolor paper. Surprise!
By the way, wet-on-wet is when you put water on your paper with your brush, then dip color into that wet area.
Here are the two paintings I did, side by side.
Next, I was inspired to make a simpler painting, so I could see what the paint was doing.
Below are three close-ups, exploring the wet-on-wet technique.
Then, I had to paint some swirls or spirals or something. Those motifs are almost always calling to me.
IN SUMMARY . . .
Ellen Degeneres is funny.
Use watercolor paper with watercolor paint, if you can.
Large, round, size 20 brushes are really fun to paint with.
Just explore and have fun. It doesn't matter what the end result looks like. You'll be learning in the process of creating.
Thank you for reading this Watercolor Wednesday post!
If you have any suggestions of what you'd like to see in future posts, leave me a kind comment below!
Blog post themes are:
Mark Making Monday
Watercolor Wednesday
Freedom Through Painting Friday
Thanks!
Happy Painting!
-Briana
