Watercolor Painting for Beginners Watercolor Painting for Beginners Easy

Source: Watercolor by Shibasaki via Youtube

Do you desire to paint with watercolor paints but have no idea where to start? Then, you are in the right place. Here are simple watercolor painting ideas for beginners that cover just about anything. These will help with the success of your first fantastic watercolor painting projects. Otherwise, if you find watercolor inspiration, they will work to spark your creativity.

Essential supplies to prepare

Watercolor painting is among the most accessible mediums should you intend to get involved in painting. The cost of materials is not too high, and you can make great art pieces.

1. Watercolors

Sennelier French Artists' Watercolor Metal Set of 12 Half Pans

First things first, to create easy watercolor paintings, make sure you get quality watercolor paints that suit artists and students of all ages. These are super versatile, available in tubes or cakes, and simple to use. You can use them to paint art pieces quickly without much preparation. You are usually all set with these watercolor paints, brushes, paper, and any water jug (say even an old cup). They likewise dry fast should you have not used water to saturate the paper, being another perk. Further, you will not have difficulty creating desired effects. For example, build up color layers and overlap translucent paint layers so that your work appears luminous.

2. Paintbrushes

Black Velvet Series 3000S Watercolor Brushes

See to it that you get the right watercolor brush, preferably those from ‎Silver Brush . Price is likewise reasonable without sacrificing quality. For instance, with the ability to hold a sharp point and considerable water capacity. The Black Velvet Series 3000S performs seriously impressively. Above all, you can use the watercolor brushes from this brand to create various effects when painting.

3. Watercolor paper

Arches Watercolor Papers

Paper tends to make a whole world of difference in the result. There are two popular choices in the art community these days that we highly recommend. The first one is the all-around professional-grade watercolor paper from Arches . Being 100% cotton, it gives the best surface to paint on. It is safe to state that Arches watercolor papers are worth every penny, considering their sophistication, consistency, and durability. The other favorite option is Fabriano Artistico . These make an unmatched basis for your simple watercolor painting. They boast a toothy and even for water absorption and a practically spongy feel.

One thing to note: Should you plan to use plenty of water in your watercolor painting, stretching the paper before you begin to prevent cockling is significant. Aside from the tools addressed above, you may need tissue paper (for example, a paper towel), a pencil, and an eraser. Speaking of pencils, we recommend using 2H or H. When choosing erasers, see to it that they are white without leaving any mark.

As you have prepared the essential supplies and have the perfect setting and mood, let's start realizing one or some of the watercolor paintings ideas to be mentioned right below. Ultimately, all that genuinely matters is, you begin painting! Instead of overthinking it and wasting plenty of time, just start! You will be happy that you did because it is that easy.

15 Simple watercolor painting ideas for beginners

1. Shapes

Source: Jaejohns

One of the easy watercolor ideas is working on a simple shape. You can paint appealing abstract art pieces with those shapes and even irregular lines and figures. Perfect them with discrete colors. Consider using ombre and gradient effects as well.

2. Cactus

Source: Jaejohns

It is another enjoyable watercolor painting idea for your inspiration. Whether you decide to paint cacti on your canvas, a bookmark, or decorate them on the diary. They will surely make your day. For instance, make equal boxes from the paper—sketch cacti of different sizes and shapes in each container. Then, move on to the most fascinating part - Mix and create various green shades to color them. Use a black marker to paint spines.

3. Trees

Source: Watercolor by Shibasaki via Youtube

You can put your shading to the test with this tree painting tutorial . Trees have a lot of leaves and branches. That is why they can be a relatively challenging subject to work on for newbies with watercolors. But this painter uses the easy technique, saving your time and at the same time delivering an amazingly detailed result. After you complete the work, how about you give it to your loved ones for their living space and whatnot. As one of the most brilliant art gift ideas , beautiful landscape painting will calm the recipient and remind them to appreciate the pure bliss of nature.

4. Misty mountains

Source: Kasturi Roy via Unsplash

Artist Kasturi painted this beautiful mountain scene. Give it a try and see whether you manage to imitate Kasturi's style. (via Unsplash)

Are you fond of faraway places? Then, how about creating a fantastic misty mountain scene painting. First, paint the distant hills and sky with a gray wash. Use a small amount of green color to create some trees. Follow up using blue and green to lightly paint a couple of faint trees. Then, in the painting's background, create a few dark green trees. As you are working on landscape art pieces, we suggest making their foreground dark compared to the background to give them a great sense of perspective. If you are also interested in painting clouds with watercolor, ensure to refer to these tricks .

5. Abstract art

Source: Jaejohns

Should you have a hard time determining what to paint, now and then, making abstract arts is fun. It is genuinely one of the beginner's watercolor painting ideas. You may add contrasting colors by using the wet-on-wet technique. The colors will ultimately generate great fluid effects when flowing randomly. It is likewise okay to splatter and move colors around using the paintbrush to get various styles.

6. Big brushstrokes

Source: Sandsun via iStock

Your watercolor artworks do not always have to have fine details. A bold and big way of painting can be impressive and give the desired outcome from time to time. Pick a larger paintbrush from your paint set and create movement in the piece by painting with loose strokes. Should you paint at a fast speed, doing so may be easier.

7. Folk art

Source: Kasturi Roy via Unsplash

You can find folk art in many countries globally. Yet, Russia and Eastern Europe might be the most famous for the intricate traditional art pieces. After creating a vertical line on the paper, you make a rough drawing of a few symmetrical leaves and flowers (as in the example painting above). Use watercolors to fill in the designs. Should you apply two different colors near one another, see to it that the adjacent color is fully dry to prevent the colors from bleeding into one another.

8. Sunset

Source: Jaejohns

Other simple watercolor painting ideas? How about you paint a mesmerizing sunset artwork using only yellow, red, and orange paints? Separate the paper into sea and sky parts by making a straight line segment. Apply the gradient technique to paint these portions. This way, the red will turn into orange and then become yellow. Use black color to add other elements.

9. Free bird

Source: Jaejohns

Birds tend to depict hope, purity, peace, and freedom. They are the main subject of many watercolor paintings. How about you add yours to that collection? Create a tree branch with flowers and leaves. Follow up with drawing a cute bird. Use blue paint for the color of its wings and head. And let the rest be white.

10. Watermelon slice

Source: Jaejohns

Painting fruits, for example, watermelon slices, is one of the most fantastic watercolor painting ideas for beginners to try out. Start with creating a triangle whose bottom is round. Next, apply water. Paint and move the red color around. Please avoid adding an excessive amount. After it gets dry, fill the bottom with light green paint and move it slightly upwards. Finish by drawing a few seeds.

11. Galaxy

Source: Jaejohns

Artists like painting these. You do not have to follow any rules. Just unleash your creativity to create an aesthetic starry sky. It is okay to use a single color (various shades) or different colors. You can make stars by splattering white paint (flicking bristles over the paper) or leveraging a white pen.

12. Sunflowers

Source: Jaejohns

Sunflower is another simple watercolor painting. It is interesting to work with the vibrant yellow. You can blend the yellow paint color with orange and red for resulting various shades. Then, fill the petals with light and dark shades. Follow up with adding dark brown color to the center. For other strokes of genius related to flower watercolor painting, you can check out this ultimate guide .

13. Two worlds

Source: Jaejohns

Why not see where your imagination takes you by depicting two people from two worlds in your work of art? After dividing your paper into two equal parts, portray the fire world on one side using bright shades. Use cooler colors on the other side to depict the water world. Next, you can paint a black tree positioned somewhere between the two worlds.

13. Dress Designing

Source: Jaejohns

Are you into fashion? If so, you can become a painter cum fashion designer using watercolor paints. Paint models putting on various dresses with different styles. Apply ombre and gradient techniques to design the clothes. It is likewise acceptable to leverage colorful markers to create multiple patterns. Unlock your creativity and make one-of-a-kind dresses.

14. Ice cream

Source: Jaejohns

Should you be finding easy watercolor ideas for summer or spring, we suggest creating cute ice cream cones. What is cool about this idea is that you can become genuinely adventurous with the paint colors you select and make your pieces as vibrant as you want. There are various ways of painting cone ice cream. For example, in the cone portion, you create small squares. Add light brown shades to the squares. Try and draw your ice cream with more layers. Use various paint colors with each color.

15. Autumn leaves

Source: Gathered. how

Many people like to fall for good reasons. The fall colors change the landscape into lively shades of ochre, orange, and red shades. You can have fun gathering fall leaves to paint as a simple watercolor painting project. First, paint yellow (the lightest color). After that, apply oranges or reds. You have two options in this regard. Wait for the base coat to fully dry before adding orange or red shades on the top. Or use the wet on wet technique. We mean, when the color below is still wet, paint a bit dark color on the top. Finally, add a brushstroke stem.

Related questions

1. Some of the best watercolor tips and tricks?

First, use washi tape or something for clean edges.

Also, you should use watercolors to paint the backgrounds you wish. For example, when you create shapes, you had better gain more precise control with a marker, pen, and stuff.

Further, see to it that your paintbrush is wet as you apply wet on wet effects or make gradations. Work quickly before the watercolor paint is dry.

For other surefire tips and tricks you should know as newbies in watercolor painting, see to it that you check out here .

2. What exactly is wet on wet technique in watercolor painting?

Popular among watercolorists, the wet on wet technique refers to applying dabs of clean water for the paper to become moist and then painting the watercolor on that damp paper. Following the water, the wet paint will generate aesthetic effects. The outcomes tend to depend on how skilled you are. That said, practice will allow you to ace this technique.

3. What exactly is the gradient technique in watercolor painting?

Gradient technique means mixing colors to generate a transition of one color into another. Smoothly blending paint colors results in impressive landscapes, sunsets, etc. It is simpler than you may think.

4. What exactly is the ombre technique?

The ombre technique refers to creating various hues with one color. Paint your desired color (with high concentration) on the watercolor paper. Move your paintbrush to drag the paint downwards. Make lighter shades by adding more water. This approach will lead to a transition to color with higher opacity from the dark one.

5. How to store watercolor paintings?

Make sure you follow these steps and surefire tips to store your watercolor artworks for many years.

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Source: https://www.kingsframingandartgallery.com/blog/post/watercolor-painting-ideas-for-beginners

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