Preparing for Painting

Explore the wonderful world of color with artist Isabella Kung! You'll learn about color theory, the color wheel, and how to use color to its greatest advantage in the form of color schemes.

Equip yourself with these 13 easy watercolor tips and tricks, and master the basics along with artist Isabella Kung! Alcohol and salt textures included inside.

Go back to basics and strengthen your core skills. Practice these watercolor techniques so it becomes effortless.

Bands of Color This exercise is designed to hone your wash-laying skills in the form of single strokes of color laid down side by side in whatever pattern your first stroke takes. The object is to concentrate on the white line you are forming between each stroke. Try not to touch any previous strokes, keeping the white lines of unpainted paper unbroken. Mix several puddles of different colors on your watercolor palette. I used a round #10 red sable for most of this exercise. A round #4 red sable was used to add smaller variations in the gaps. A larger...

The Classic The Classic grip for holding a watercolor brush is much like the way you hold a pen or pencil for writing. The only difference being that you (for the most part) are gripping the brush further from the business end of things. Pick up your brush and grip the thickest part of the handle above the ferrulle—the body of the brush—and hold it like you are getting ready to write a letter. Remember writing? Weigh the brush in your hand, roll it with your fingers, find the balance of the brush in your grip. Since you are holding...

1. Brush If you can afford only one brush, buy a #8 round red sable watercolor brush. Otherwise buy the best synthetic or synthetic-blend brush you can find. Adding a round #4 and a 1" flat would come in handy for detail work and large washes. Most manufacturers have starter sets that contain very usable equivalents. 2. Paint Select a set of watercolor paints. The 12-color set shown below is a great deal. Most sets have a good selection of basic colors you'll need for transparent watercolor painting. Rarely use the white paint that is included in most cake or...