A Glossary of Terms used in watercolour painting. The image above uses many, if not all, of the techniques I briefly describe in the following article. See if you can spot them all. I will cover each technique separately, and in more detail, in future articles.
"The most important ally in the study of painting is the art of thinking." Edgar Payne.Problem solving. In my previous article "Moving Forward" I explained the necessity of self-evaluation. After all only you know what you like, what you’re trying to achieve, and whether the results satisfy you or not. Whilst seeking feedback from others can be useful it is your own likes and dislikes that make your paintings unique. If in doubt, follow your own path.
Ask yourself the following questions when analysing the success of your paintings... "Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far they can really go." - T S Elliott.  At some point every artist wonders how they can move forward with their painting. With this in mind I wrote the following article, which I hope will answer as many questions as it raises.
Painting, with the intention of pushing yourself beyond that which you can comfortably do, will take you further. That's easier said than done, of course. I have used my painting above to illustrate this article as it was pivotal in my own journey as an artist. Creating a plan for achieving whatever you want begins with knowing precisely what you want to achieve and creating a list of things that will take you there. To help, I have divided the task into three stages... Interviews with other artistsI met Matt through Twitter. Interested in his work, I had a look at his website. What caught my attention, apart from his paintings, was that he makes stringent restrictions for himself in order to produce his work.
"I'm not really interested in easy things." he said. "The thrill is overcoming problems one by one so there are small and larger rewards all the time. I always get the best results when I'm not really thinking too hard, it’s sort of existential." I don't know any one else like that. ;) “You use a mirror of glass to see yourself; you use Art to see your soul." George Bernard Shaw. I have made a list of challenges and I set my weekly class the task of completing one at the end of each month. It's been quite a while since I posted one so here's another example:- Paint a self-portrait using still-life objects that describe or represent you. This challenge will encourage you to think in a creative way.  2014's Painting of Poppies to commemorate the centenary of Armistice Day. Red Poppies, a poem by Paignton Poet...
 You cannot get a brighter white than that of the paper you're using. White paint is opaque and will never resemble the brightness of the paper, so this should be reserved at all costs.
I don't use white paint because for me, the beauty of watercolour is its transparent nature. I therefore have to keep the areas that I want to remain white reserved. There are three ways to reserve the white of the paper... Interviews with other artists.I first met Beverley on Redbubble and now on Facebook. I love her loose style. Her enthusiasm for watercolour is infectious. Who wouldn't want to get their paints out having seen these wonderful paintings?
Spotlight on Watercolour ~ mixing colours.
Colour mixing requires practice, patience and perseverance! Here's what I've discovered...
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Eleanor Mann
Putting a "Spotlight on Watercolour"I am a watercolour artist and tutor. Welcome to my painting blog.
I'll share my new paintings and news with you here - before they're published on the main site. Information about watercolour painting techniques and step-by-step demonstrations and a host of other things are available by subscribing to my online "art group", For more information about this please click here. If you would like to subscribe to receive notification that I've posted something that may interest you (don't worry, you won't be inundated) there is a form below. Thanks for visiting. Please read the Privacy Policy
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