If you’ve ever watched a watercolor painting and thought “Wow — I want to try that!”, then this watercolor for beginners post is for you. Watercolor is one of the most joyful art forms to explore, and every piece you make is beautifully unique thanks to how colors move and blend.
Watercolor for Beginners: Where to Start?
As a novice artist, watercoloring is one of the most satisfying forms of art to try. I absolutely loved the look of watercolor on paper, and one day decided to try it and have never looked back!
To start painting watercolor for beginners, watch Youtube videos to learn new methods, explore with color, and most of all enjoy the process. I share many easy watercoloring ideas on my blog see if any catches your eye. There is no wrong, and keep painting till you find your style.
I would suggest that you give yourself time to progress. You won’t learn it all or like what you paint right from the start.
I took up a100 days of Watercoloring challenge- where I painted everyday for 100 days. It could be a lettering piece, an abstract, or a floral- but using watercolors. The 100 day project is a global art challenge that allows you to grow and learn. When you do anything for 100 days straight, you are bound to improve
What You Really Need to Get Started
Let’s keep it simple! To start painting with watercolor for beginners, you’ll only need a few basic supplies:
Watercolor paints — you can start with a small set of watercolor cakes or pans in bright basic colors. I started my watercoloring journey with a basic Artist’s loft Watercolor cake set that I bought at Michaels. It is super affordable, easy to use and comes with wide variety of bright colors. Another great beginner choice are the Winsor & Newton Cotman series in either tubes or cakes.
Watercolor paper — this is different from regular drawing paper and made to hold water without warping or bending. I started with a heavy weight A2 notecards in size by the Recollections brand, these are not watercolor paper but work well. I then moved onto these Strathmore Watercolor Cards which are amazing to use! The papers cold pressed, good quality and great for beginners. The paper watercolor for beginners paper is this Canson Watercolor Pad has 140lb paper that is affordable and great for beginners.
Brushes– You will need couple of round brushes in small and medium sizes work great to begin. I have a set of Royal and Langnickel which comes in various brush sizes. You don’t need fancy brushes to begin with, buy a variety pack with different shapes and try them all out to learn which ones you like better.
I also like a storage clipboard set that had store your supplies inside it.
What to Paint first?
I started by experimenting with these Easy Watercolor Flowers. Another great watercolor for beginners tutorial with instructions is this watercolor circle post. These are simple shapes to paint and the color + water do all the work for you.
The first month you begin watercolor painting might be a bit challenging. I would stare at the paper and push color around the tray and frown because I didn’t know if what I did was right or wrong. Only by adding more brush strokes and exploring color palette ideas was I able to figure what I like and what I do not.
Watercolor for beginners video:
CONCLUSION:
Watercolor for beginners, does not need many supplies. Just grab some basic supplies and start. If you enjoy the art and you can always upgrade to the best watercolor supplies as you grow.
