Watercolor Drawing Techniques with “Confidence”

Hello again!

            Forget what you have heard - forget what your friends have told you, the simple fact toward achieving watercolor painting success, is through its “simplicity.’’ No other medium can boast such a claim. With that said, let’s not forget the next, and most important part of success. The confidence. Please repeat after me: “My Success will come from Simplicity and Confidence.”

Great, now you have the perfect outlook. Let’s get right to it then, shall we?

            Today, we’ll be discussing the ever so worrisome act of “drawing.’’ This one activity tends to place much unnecessary worry and distress on so many people. But, as you will find-out through practice and experience, there is much to be enjoyed during this process.

        

            Before we go too far, I want to make sure one thing is well understood, and that is, that drawing and design, are not vital skills required of all artists, especially in watercolors. Watercolor painting in its purest form allows for great “simplicity.’’ Honing in on that simplicity is the key. Simplicity will allow you to be free to explore, make mistakes, and most importantly, learn from those mistakes. Whether you create stick figures or you create drawings of three-dimension, by all means, have fun, be yourself, and be free with your creativity.

Even a simple stick-figure can have class

So now, with your #2 pencil, your ruler, and your paper in hand, let’s begin your “drawing & design” lesson. 

Grab your Pencil, Ruler, and paper. Let's get to it.

            It is through observation, and I don’t mean a glance, I mean real concentrated observation of your subject, that you’ll gain a true understanding of your subject matter. 

            With your ruler extended out in front of you, select an object within view, line-up the ruler’s straight edge along a portion of your objects outer boundary. Notice the angle at which your ruler appears. This is the angle you want to replicate on your paper when drawing the object. With a repeated ruler up/ruler down motion, you will continually repeat this process until the entire object outer dimensions have been recorded. 
 

Ruler method to determine angle

         How and where you start to measure is entirely up to you, I prefer to measure like I read, I start on the left side of the object, work my way up and over towards the right and then down. I know, that’s not exactly how I read, but at least it sounded good. Here’s the best part about using the ruler method, it has increments of measurement on it. While measuring the angle of your object, you can at the same time, measure its length. This will allow for symmetry in your composition. Symmetry assures that the original object proportions match, and be recorded on paper in its likeness, and not ill-conceived. 

        Now, if you haven’t worked with this process before, take some time and practice. Practice getting the angles right, from original to your paper. The trick is to keep your wrist locked in place at the angle you want, and then place the ruler on the paper with wrist still locked and scribe a few guide marks. Then, with your ruler, connect the guide marks with a solid line. Check and recheck your symmetry. Make sure things are in proportion to reality.

Hand method to determine curvatures

Drawing circles, ovals, and wavy lines can easily be achieved by utilizing nearly the same method as used with your ruler. But, instead of your ruler, your hand will make for the perfect tool. Your hand can concave to a certain point and it can also curl into a fist. Perfect, right? Well, most circles, ovals, and wavy lines can easily be measured, found and transferred to paper using your own hand. Again, this takes practice and practice will lead to perfection and simplicity while developing confidence. 

 

         You will find that most professional artists have a little secret when it comes to drawing and designing. You probably have already wondered how a person can draw to the exact likeness of every object they pursue. Well, the secret is, is that they don’t. At least not very often. Instead, most use tracing paper, expensive printers, and image projectors. Now,you may have your own opinions and beliefs for not choosing those methods, but let me just say this. The fastest and most accurate way to learn how to draw is by repetition. Using tracing paper will aid in the training of your eye-hand coordination, and adapt your skills to doing it on your own. It’s a muscle memory thing. So I highly suggest using the tracing paper method, at least until you have developed and adapted to drawing on your own. There’s no shame in it, just common sense and initiative to achieve your desires in drawing. 

Drawing for detail

        So, are you ready to get started? Great, don’t forget to practice, practice, practice. Also, add some shading, add notes, add anything into your drawing you think will guide your painting towards success. Why not? It will soon be covered over with amazing color and lost forever anyway. You can also just jump, right into doodling with your brush, who said you need to have a drawing anyway?

Fine brush doodles "My Fun & Practice" Each image measures aprox-1/4 inch.

Remember this above all else, have fun, be yourself, be creative, and never forget: “Your Success will come from Simplicity and Confidence.”

Watercolor Material & Equipment with "Confidence"

            Forget what you have heard; forget what your friends have told you, the simple fact toward achieving success in watercolor painting, is in its simplicity. No other medium can boast such a claim. So now, repeat after me: “My Success will come from Simplicity and Confidence.”

            Great, now let’s jump into the required materials. To successfully create a watercolor painting, all that is required, is a piece of paper, some watercolor paint, a brush, and yes, water! Lots of water! It doesn't get any simpler than that. Yet, people try to make it more difficult than that, but why? You will find that most works of art; were created with the simplest of tools and skill.

"Jagged Fence" By. Shawn Stoffel

            Let’s go a little further with our equipment list. To create something a bit more detailed or defined, let’s toss in a pencil. Any pencil will do. There is no need to spend $6-$12 on a fancy pencil. That’s just silly. No, once your paint hits that paper surface, your pencil scribes will be covered and lost anyway. So, just make things as simple as you can, grab one of your child’s pencils from their school supplies, or purchase some inexpensive #2’s. 

Artist Shawn Stoffel in Plein-Air

                           

            You will learn through experience, and through experimentation, exactly what paper you will prefer to paint with. “All paper is preferred differently.” What this means, is that; no matter what brand; or what weight paper you use; somebody; somewhere; will prefer something different than what you are using for your work. No worries, there is actually some common sense to this. For example: Just because Joanna from down the street prefers 300# Arches for her work, doesn’t mean that you have to use it. For one thing; it is far more expensive than the 90# or even the 140# paper. The truth is; that most people who use 300# paper; simply shy away from the thinner papers; because they haven’t learned how to manage the process of wet paper buckling yet. But, as you learn the techniques to be confident in your watercolor painting, this process too will become as simple as anything else. Anyways, once that paper is locked behind glass and frame, it is hard for anyone to tell what the weight of the paper was.

            Experimentation in the beginning is everything. You shouldn’t be drawing 3-hour images and attempting to create a master-piece yet. Everything good takes time and it takes learning the basic fundamentals. Be patient, be confident, and know that your time will come. It is all just a matter of understanding. Follow along with my blogs and I will unlock all of the mystery for you.

"The White House" Instant Coffee Pigment. By. Shawn Stoffel

            So, to get started in watercolor painting, you will need just a few things. I recommend purchasing a sample pack of various weighted papers from your art dealer. Play around and experiment with all of it. Next, you will need some painters tape to adhere your paper to your art board. The tape need not be expensive art tape. 3M makes a wonderful interior painters tape that works perfectly when all four corners of your paper are masked down to your board. Your art board can simply be a piece of flat wood. I typically use ¼’’ luan plywood cut just a few inches larger than the paper size itself. You will need a few brushes. Be sure to find brushes specifically used in watercolor. Round, square, flat, it doesn’t matter. Some artists prefer only round, or only flat, I just think of how limiting that is towards your work. I keep all styles ready, but I have been known to grab and use whatever is closest to me at the time. Experimentation is the key; each brush style offers a specific uniqueness. Ahhh, -the paint! Yes, watercolor paint and paper will be the most important elements for your style. Not all watercolor paint-brands; or quality are the same. Some, you will prefer every time, some you will only use once in a great while. Having a good mixture of brand and quality, of watercolor paints, will give you options. I typically use whatever is on sale, and often tend to prefer Winsor & Newton and Holbein. But, as you will find out through experimentation, different watercolor pigments will have different effects on the different papers. 

"Marlin On" By. Shawn Stoffel

                

            Keeping things as simple, and as affordable as you can, in the beginning, will make the difference for you, and for your art, later on. Stay confident, and by all means, keep things simplistic. Experiment often and stay tuned-in to my next blogs. I will shed some light on watercolor techniques, drawing techniques and all of the professional secrets.

What did I ask you to repeat? Repeat after me: “My Success will come from Simplicity and Confidence.”