Art Medium Study #1
Watercolors
What do I know about Watercolors? I know that Crayola has a great set that my students use on projects all the time. I know that blue is the color kids like the best. Why? It’s the color that runs out first! I know that they are dry and you add water to them. I know that watercolors are easy to clean up after 20+ students have been using them. J In other words I don’t know a whole lot. So in classic teacher voice, YEAH we get to learn!
Let’s begin with a definition from Wikipedia.
Watercolor (US) or watercolour (UK and Commonwealth), also aquarelle from French, is a painting method. A watercolor is the medium or the resulting artwork in which the paints are made of pigments suspended in a water soluble vehicle. The traditional and most common support for watercolor paintings is paper; other supports include papyrus, bark papers, plastics, vellum or leather, fabric, wood, and canvas. Watercolors are usually transparent and it allows light to reflect from the surface of the paper. This gives a luminous effect. Watercolor can also be made opaque by adding Chinese white. In East Asia, watercolor painting with inks is referred to as brush painting or scroll painting. In Chinese, Korean, and Japanese painting it has been the dominant medium, often in monochrome black or browns. India, Ethiopia and other countries also have long traditions. Fingerpainting with watercolor paints originated in China.
Interesting to note that different cultures use this medium more than others. Why? Well let’s day I am writing a picture book set in China, wouldn’t it make sense to use watercolors? See what I mean.
Okay now more information, Types of Watercolors. (Yes I learned that there are different types!) Taken from: http://netnet.net/~cloud9/tips/tips_watercolors.html
TYPES OF WATERCOLORS: There are many types of watercolors on the market. You have watercolor crayons, watercolor pencils, powdered watercolors, liquid watercolors, pan/cake watercolors (those are the ones in a dried little disc like crayola makes), and the tube variety of watercolors. And for as many types as there are, you can estimate at least 10 times that many brands. When you choose the type of watercolor you want to learn...try thinking of it like this. Let's say..you are a person who likes to paint...(maybe as a child you LOVED paint by number sets, I did)....You've painted enough to be comfortable with a paintbrush. In this situation, I would suggest buying ANY of the types of watercolors. Now...let's say you haven't ever tried watercolors...but you ARE familiar and comfortable with crayons and pencils...then I would tell you to buy either watercolor pencils or crayons.
My personal reaction: HOLY COW!!!! I had no idea there were this many options when it came to watercolors! Like I stated earlier, I know about Crayola. Oh wait I know seem to recall some watercolor markers I have stashed away with my stamping stuff. J
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Okay we know the history, we know the types but how do we do it? Let’s learn about Watercolors here are some basic tips from the following web site. http://www.ehow.com/how_2104020_use-watercolors.html
· 1 Set up your workspace. As you will often need to change the water you are using, you should find a workspace that is convenient to a water supply. Lay out your brushes and watercolors.
· 2 Pick your subject. Watercolors are ideal for landscape painting, so consider some outdoor scenery or a still-life setup.
· 3 Apply a broad background wash to your paper. Mix your chosen background color with plenty of water. Dip the wash brush into the watery mixture and sweep across the paper. If you would like a fade in your background, add more water to the mixture as you approach the top or bottom.
· 4 Allow the wash to dry on the paper before proceeding.
· 5 Use less water and thinner brushes when painting the actual picture. To provide opacity to your painting, simply dip a brush tip into the water and circle it on the watercolor cake until your desired shade is reached. You can also paint over areas that have dried slightly to increase opacity.
· 6 Tint areas of your painting if desired. Allow the sections of the painting to dry completely. Mix a watercolor shade with plenty of water and sweep over the desired area. This is mostly a trial and error process, so keep playing until you find shades and tints that work for you.
· 7 Allow the finished product to lay flat and dry completely before matting and framing.
My personal reaction: Mixing paint, of course I know that mixing paint is like breathing when it comes to art work. But how do you keep clean paint sets in a classroom? So often in a classroom setting we are limited on time. But allowing the time for watercolors to dry before adding more, this is another lesson I am learning.
If you want more information about watercolors here are a few links.
This really is only an ice flake off of the top of Mt. Everest, there is so many other things that go into play when you are an artists, I read about brushes, types of papers, etc…. For now I will move on but perhaps return to this in the future.
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