Starry night or cloudy dusk, we can't decide which watercolor sky we love more. The key to painting both of these gorgeous scenes is to work quickly without letting the paint dry. Once you're done, you'll be a master of the wet-on-wet watercolor technique!
Kristen goes over everything you'll need for this simple and straightforward project. She also helps you find inspiration and make design decisions for your abstract work.
Hey beach bums, this one's for you. Whether you're craving some fun in the sun or just got back from the shores with a new shell collection in tow, painting watercolor seashells will instantly give you that toes-in-the-sand vibe.
You've got your acrylic paint, your work surface is ready to go, and you're really inspired to paint. Now comes the fun part: actually putting paint on paper!
If you've ever painted a room or had a manicure, you already know what it means to prime a surface. Adding primer to a wall, applying a base coat to your fingernails before the polish goes on, prepping a canvas before you paint: It's all pretty much the same concept.
Got paints. Got paper. Go for it. We're never going to discourage free-roaming exploration. But if you want to ground your watercolor play in a little technique, we've got you covered.
You thought you'd mastered the tree back in preschool — a brown rectangle topped with a big blob of green. But once you traded in those tubs of tempura for tubes of acrylic, you learned the humbling truth: Trees are actually pretty tricky to paint well, especially if you're going for a bit more realism.
Water is endlessly inspiring to artists. There's something deeply compelling about its ever-changing nature, whether in a still, reflective pond or a rushing stream. But water is also one of the most difficult things to paint realistically in acrylic.
Outdoor watercolor painting is something I recommend to all of my students. When you're out in nature feeling the air and watching the light change right in front of your eyes, you can bring more than just an image of a landscape to your paintings; you can bring a sense of atmosphere and emotion.
Splatter painting, the technique made famous by Jackson Pollock, is energetic, unpredictable and a whole lot of fun. It's also a lot harder than it looks.
Watercolor pencils look like regular colored pencils, and you pretty much use them the same way... with one exception. When you add water to your drawing, something incredible happens: you've suddenly got watercolor art.
So you're comfy with the watercolor basics, and now you're looking around for something to paint. We've gotchu. These fave projects range from sweetly simple to ahhh-mazing, and we love every single one. Time to wet your brushes!
