by Kellie Hall

Created on: May 10, 2007

Watercolor is a wonderful, flexible medium that can provide the most lovely colors and internal variety of any available medium, but you have to approach it with an open, self-forgiving mindset.

Paper is important. There are a lot of brands out there that will come with the label "watercolor paper", and any of those could work- it's a matter of personal preference. A rougher-textured on will be more forgiving and absorptive, and a heavier weight will give you a sturdier, less likely to buckle surface. You can tape paper down to a board, deal with the minor buckling, or buy watercolor paper that is in a brick- all the edges are glued together, and you break the individual page off when you're done painting on it- that's my personal favorite.

Brushes are important, too. There are watercolor brushes, and you can also use acrylic brushes. You'll want something soft and absorptive, and not the cheapest brush available- you don't want it shedding hair all over your painting!

The paints themselves are tricky. They'll probably all seem expensive, but they last a surprisingly long time, especially the ones you get in little tinfoil wrapped bricks, already dehydrated. Get a good selection of colors you like- at least four or five different colors, and wait and see how you like them. You may prefer the transparent, staining types to the more granular ones, or you may prefer one brand more than another, or just develop an opinion about tube paints vs. brick paints- they all have their virtues and their fallbacks.

Get some resist as well. It's a tacky, unpleasant substance that will nonetheless help you feel at ease painting- you put it over areas that you want to save for later, to preserve their pristine whiteness. Once everything is dry, it rubs of easily, leaving very sharp lines behind.

Remember that you can always lift a color at least a little bit- you can always make an area lighter, but you will not be able to restore it to perfect whiteness.

But more importantly, remember why you chose watercolor- those glorious washes of saturated color that inspire the heart and the imagination. Get lots of paper, and be willing to play and learn- if you've only got one sheet of paper, that painting had better be a good one.

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