• Virtual Art Academy
  These self-study courses cover all the principles of watercolor painting used by the old masters. The watercolor painting courses show you how to get started in watercolor painting and how to create great compositions, and on to more advanced topics such perspective and form.
• Artshow.com
  An excellent resource for watercolor painting workshops and classes, both in the US and internationally. Listed by date and always up-to-date.
• Scottsdale Art School
  An internationally respected nonprofit organization devoted to the education of traditional fine art. Located in the American Southwest in sophisticated Scottsdale, Arizona, the school is widely regarded for quality oil painting instruction by well-known artists such as John Burton, Ron Hicks, William Hook, William Scott Jennings, Milt Kobayashi, David Leffel, John Poon, Ray Roberts, Ned Mueller, and Jove Wang. Art classes are run all through the year.
• John Lovett Watercolor Painting Workshops
  John Lovett, a featured artist in International Artist Magazine, provides painting lessons on his website, and 10 minute DVDs with techniques, demos, and step-by-step projects.

Art Supply Warehouse (ASW)
5325 Departure Drive
Raleigh, NC 27616-1835
Phone: 800 995 6778
Fax: 1 919 878 5075

Jerry’s Artarama
5325 Departure Drive
Raleigh, NC 27616
Phone: 800 827 8478
Web: http://www.jerrysartarama.com

Dick Blick
P.O. Box 1267
Galesburg, IL 61402-1267
Phone: 800 828-4548
Web: http://www.dickblick.com

Windbrella
Dick Blick
PO Box 1267
Galesburg, IL 61402-1267
Phone: 800 828 4548

The Earthworm umbrella stand
www.theearthworm.com

Watercolor blocks and paper
Arches
Jerry’s Artarama
5325 Departure Drive
Raleigh, NC 27616-1835
Phone: 800 827 8478

Watercolor paints
Winsor & Newton
Jerry’s Artarama
5325 Departure Drive
Raleigh, NC 27616-1835
Phone: 800 827 8478

Product Manufacturer/Supplier Contact Information

Sun-Eden lightweight portable easel system
Sun-Eden Artist’s Gear 1430 Fletcher Drive
Erie, CO 80516
Phone: 303 828 4430
Fax: 303 828 0106

I use Stanrite products from time to time, and they seem to be fairly robust. I also use these plein air. They are a little heavier than the Sun-Eden products, but a little stronger.

Stanrite watercolor easel
Stanrite
Jerry’s Artarama 5325 Departure Drive
Raleigh, NC 27616-1835
Phone: 800 827 8478

The Mabef easels are heavier and better for use in the studio. You can use the outdoor easels above also in the studio if you only want to buy one easel.

Mabef easels Mabef
Dick Blick PO Box 1267
Galesburg, IL 61402-1267
Phone: 800 828 4548
Fax: 800 621 8293

• masking tape
  You can use masking tape if you are painting something that has very straight lines, such as buildings or some furniture.
• liquid mask
  You can buy either pure white liquid mask, or one that has a slight yellow tint, and apply it with a brush. You then wait for it to dry completely, then you can apply your wash over the area. Use liquid mask for protecting small areas such as for highlights, or for odd shaped objects such as tree trunks and flowers. Once you have applied the wash you can remove the liquid mask by gently rubbing it with a finger or an eraser.

• removing the whole watercolor painting
  If you realize at the beginning of the session that the watercolor painting is not going the way you expected it to, you can completely remove the whole painting. Hold the watercolor paper under cold running water and gently sponge off the paint.
• removing part of the watercolor painting
  If you only need to remove a small area of the watercolor painting, wet a sponge in clean water and gently wipe the watercolor paper until the color is removed. If the area is very small you can use a wet brush. You can also use this technique to create highlights.
• softening a hard edge
  You can soften a hard edge by wetting a cotton swab and dabbing it along the hard edged object in your watercolor painting.
• removing small blemishes
  You can remove small specks of paint that fall into the wrong area of the watercolor painting with a razor blade. Wait until the paint has dried, then carefully scrape the paint off the watercolor paper. Do not scrape too hard or you could make holes in the paper.
• repairing a ragged edge
  If you have a hard edge that has run into another area, wait until the paint has dried then paint over the edge with opaque white gouache paint.

• washes
• wet-in-wet
• dry brush
• lifting off
• glazes

Washes

This is the technique you use for covering large areas of the watercolor paper, such as the sky or flat water. First wet the area of paper where you want to apply the wash. Slightly angle your paper to let the paper and paint drain down. Next, mix up the color you want to use for the wash, load the brush with plenty of water and a little of the color, and run the brush horizontally across the paper. Before the paint dries, fill your brush again and paint another stroke across the paper, just overlapping the first stroke. Continue to paint these even strokes until you reach the bottom of the area you want to paint. Leave the painting to dry.

You can experiment with more or less water to get different intensity of color and value, and also change the gradation of the value from dark to light as you move down the painting. As your skills increase, you can use different colors in the strokes to simulate a sunset or the changing color of water as it recedes into the distance.

Wet-in-wet

This is the process of adding color to a wet area of the painting. First you wet the area of the painting with a large brush, then you apply the color. If you have an underlying wash, make sure it is completely dry before you wet any area of it. This creates a blurred image with soft edges.

Dry brush

If you want to have something with a definite edge, or you want to paint thin lines, use the dry brush method. The brush should contain mostly color and not much water, and you drag it over a dry area of the painting. This is the technique to use if you want to create texture in your watercolor painting, such as foliage in landscapes and hair in portraits. Do not paint all your picture with dry brush, but use it in combination with washes to create interesting compositions.

Lifting off

Regardless of whether the watercolor paint is wet or dry, most watercolor paints can be lifted off the watercolor paper so you can paint over with a different color or leave the area the color of the paper. Stains, such as the phthalos are difficult to remove, so stay with non-staining colors until you are more experienced. To lift off the paint, wet the area with pure water then use a tissue to blot away the color.

Glazes

Glazes are similar to washes, except you apply a thin wash of transparent color over an existing wash. You do this to adjust the color or warmth of the underlying color. Cooler glazes make an object recede and warmer glazes bring objects to the foreground. You should use non-staining transparent colors, such as rose madder, which can be applied in layer after layer until you achieve the effect you were aiming for. Always let the glaze wash dry before applying the next layer. Turner used a lot of glazes as you can see in this painting:

Here are the steps to follow for stretching your watercolor paper.

Materials

• gummed brown tape
• watercolor paper
• a large flat pan of cold water (or a bathtub)
• two sponges (preferably different colors)
• drawing board

Steps

1. Cut your watercolor paper to the size you want to paint on.
2. Cut four strips of gummed brown tape, one for each side of the paper. Make the strips slightly longer than the sides.
3. Place the watercolor paper in the cold water, using a sliding motion, until it is thoroughly soaked (no more than five to ten minutes, depending on the weight or it will disintegrate).
4. Gently lift the watercolor paper out of the water and allow the water to drip off.
5. Lay the watercolor paper onto the clean drawing board, which must be lying flat.
6. Smooth the paper with one of the sponges, which will also remove any excess water.
7. Moisten a strip of the gummed tape with the other sponge, and stick it firmly along one side of the watercolor paper. Make sure the tape is one-third of its width on the watercolor paper and two-thirds of its width on the drawing board.
8. Smooth the tape with the sponge.
9. Apply the other stips of tape on the on the other three sides.
10. Leave to dry for several hours, away from any direct heat source. Keep the board flat at all times or the water will drain to one side and the paper will dry unevenly.