— We All Have Those Days —
I know I’m not alone when I say, there are just some mornings – no matter how much coffee you drink, no matter how much you stare at Pinterest for inspiration – there are some mornings you just don’t want to paint. It’s a very familiar feeling that can come from just about anywhere. Recently, I’ve found myself struggling to just pick up my paint brush and paint. For some reason, lately, my white woven watercolor paper sends my head spinning with anxiety. That’s when I realized, I needed a creativity recharge – something to jump start my artsy fartzy painting skillz again ;)
— How Do You Jump Start Creativity? —
It’s something that I had never heard of – which is partially why I decided to make this video and write this post. As we’ve already established – everyone struggles with some form of creative block at least once in their lifetime (for me it’s more like once a week – usually Monday mornings but that’s a whole other topic.) So, today I’m going to be sharing with you some exercises that I do to get me out of this rut and recharge my creative circuits. Now, without further delay let’s jump into this!
Exercise #1 – Washes
Believe it or not, the best place to actually start your “creative wheels a turning” is to go back to the basics – yeah, those basic beginner’s exercises you learn way back or perhaps have just started practicing. I’ll get into the reasoning a bit later, but for now just trust me – going back to the basics works. Washes are the first exercise I recommend trying. They are easy and the foundation for everything you will do in watercolor. There are 3 different types of washes you can paint – a flat wash, a gradient wash, and a variegated wash.
— Flat Wash —
Flat washes are the most basic of the three washes you can paint. Simply put, they are a solid layer of one color tone evenly spread over one area. These washes can be tricky when painting larger areas – this is why painting in “puddles” is so crucial to achieve with this technique. Here is basically the rule I use when painting a flat wash:
- First, don’t outline the shape – rather, start from one side and work your way to the other. This creates a smooth transition without the chance of layering a new color onto a previously dry coat (that’s where those funky line shapes come from).
- Next, always leave a puddle in the direction you are moving. The video demonstrates this perfectly – so if you’re a bit confused, definitely check out the video. But basically, as you are painting, try and keep a puddle of paint toward the edge in the direction you are moving your paint. This will prevent the paint from drying too quickly on the page and allow you to pick up new paint if need be. By painting in this method, you can create smooth transitions when loading your brush with paint – by simply placing the newly loaded paint in the puddle you just formed.
— Gradient Wash —
Gradient washes are washes that show a smooth paint transition from one color to the white of the paper. These are great for showing highlights and are pretty simple to paint. Once again, don’t outline the shape. Similar to the flat wash, start at one end of the shape you desire to paint and move in a forward motion to the other side. However, with a gradient wash, instead of picking up more paint this time you will be loading your brush with water and slowly adding more and more water to the paper until the color appears transparent on the paper.
— Variegated Wash —
Variegated washes are washes that show a smooth paint transition from one color to another. These are, in my opinion, the most fun to paint but also the most difficult. I have found the easiest way to paint these is by starting on one end of your shape with let’s say pink and painting similar to a flat wash toward the center. Then with another brush, painting the opposite side let’s say blue and painting this side toward the pink. However, before merging the two, next mix the two colors on your palette and then apply this to the middle – merging the purple tone between the pink and blue. This helps me create the smoothest transition and still give it a cool variegated feel.
Exercise #2 – Wet into Wet
The next exercise – as the name implies – basically means you are placing wet paint into either a water layer or more wet paint. One reason it’s great to play around with this exercise is because some paints you may notice mix well together in wet-into-wet environments – and then there are others that just don’t care what you want them to do. These paints don’t care about your feelings and will flat out refuse to mix with each other in unique ways. This has nothing to do with you or your ability to mix paints – but rather the consistency of the paint itself. So, definitely play around and keep notes on which of your paints like to comply with your demands and which prefer to have full-on temper tantrums. :)
Exercise #3 – Textures
I absolutely love playing around with watercolor textures! There are so many different combinations you can play around with. Your imagination is really the limit for this one. I’m going to be honest with you, I’ve wasted a couple of days away just playing around with watercolor textures. I could spend a whole article talking about the endless possibilities with this technique, but for time’s sake I’ll limit myself to my 6 favorite texture combos.
My favorite watercolor texture combos include…
- Salt with watercolor
- White acrylic paint with watercolor
- Metallic ink with watercolor
- Coffee grounds or coffee with watercolor
- Metallic nail polish with watercolor
- Tissue paper or plastic wrap on top of wet watercolor
Exercise #4 – Glazing
I’ve noticed in recent years there is a lot of confusion between glazing and wet into wet. To help clarify this confusion, I’m going to try to simplify the definition as much as possible. Glazing is painting wet paint onto a semi-wet to already dried layer of paint. Wet into wet, however, is painting wet paint into wet paint and allowing the two to mix freely on the page. Think of glazing as having some control over your paint. Whereas wet into wet is a Hunger Games free-for-all, with no control over your paint. This technique is great for adding shadows and details to a previously painted layer. Also, notice that your paper, after being wet, will react differently than it did when you first painted on it. Depending on how much water you previously applied to the paper, your lines may not be as defined as they were when first painting on clean paper. This is just something to keep in mind, especially when adding thin lined details.
Exercise #5 – Hand & Eye Coordination
And finally, the last exercise I recommend is good ol’ hand and eye coordination. Think of this as a handwriting exercise – except with your paint brush. It’s basically about controlling your hand and eye coordination for those small intricate details. The goal of this exercise is to paint lines as close as possible to one another without touching, allowing the wet paint to blend on your paper. As you find yourself getting better and better with simple lines – next try creating intricate patterns with shapes to challenge yourself further.
— Letting Your Creativity Flow —
You may be asking yourself, Carrie, why the heck did you just walk me through a beginning watercolor class? Well, starting from the beginning is the best way to recharge yourself. It’s a simple and easy way to get back into the groove of painting, honing those basic skills, without the pressure of creating a masterpiece. As we all know, perfectionism is the greatest enemy to creativity. I didn’t share this in the video, mainly due to time, but after you feel more confident with your basic painting skills, challenge yourself a bit more with watercolor patterns. This is where your creativity can really blossom. I’ve included a sample of what I did to get my creative juices flowing and I promise you it works. But don’t take my word for it – try these exercises for yourself and watch your creativity recharge.
As usual, my Misfit Fam, it’s been a pleasure and I will see you next time!
