Watercolor Painting Tips

Series Summary

The art of watercolor painting has been practiced since the time of the ancient Egyptians, when frescoes were created by a process of applying water-based pigments to wet plaster. Watercolor painting also has a rich history in Chinese and Japanese art, and has been used to add color to beautifully illuminated manuscripts in cultures throughout the world. What we think of as modern watercolor painting began to develop in the 1500s with Albrecht Durer's landscape studies. The popularity of this medium spread and spawned many disciplines of watercolor painting, including the 17th century British school and the California style of the 1920s.

So you want to learn how to paint like an artist? In these free art lessons on video you'll learn how to create a watercolor painting. Our expert will show you what art supplies and materials you will need, especially the types of paints and brushes, as well as how to sketch out your painting, block in colors, and how to add darker colored paints to your watercolor. Soon you’ll be on your way to becoming well-versed in the world of watercolor.

Video Transcript

"Hi, I'm Kristine Mueller. Welcome to Expert Village today I'm going to show you how to start painting with watercolor. So what you're going to need is some watercolor paint, brushes, a pallet, you can use a simple white ceramic plate which is great, a jar for your water, rag, paper towel in case you have some spills or messes. You need some watercolor paper which you can get either individually or in a folder, I'm going to use a drawing board, then maybe you need to have some plastic to put underneath your materials so if you have a spill it doesn't get into your table, I'm working on a wood table so that wouldn't be that good. That is pretty much it so let's get started."