Top Watercolor Artists Do THESE 5 THINGS!

Sep 28, 2022

Even when you’re not able to attend a workshop or take an online course, you can pick up a lot from simply admiring the work of successful watercolor artists. Each of their paintings is a window into their process. 

Occasionally, I find it helpful to look back at the American Watercolor Society catalogs. I love to appreciate and study the paintings that were accepted into their exhibitions because these are the top watercolor artists. And, inevitably, I notice some trends that help me to know where to focus my energy as an artist. 

In today’s video, I break down 5 key elements you’ll find in professional watercolor paintings and offer some tips on how you can progress in these areas. 

1. Top watercolor artists do not spell everything out. The best watercolor artists leave some mystery in their painting. We want those who view our paintings to engage with the scene, and this only happens when they have to think a little bit about what they're looking at. 

So, be intentional about leaving some mystery in your painting. Give your focal areas a little more attention, and everywhere else can be a more loose rendering of the scene. 

2. Top watercolor artists focus on atmosphere. When I refer to the atmosphere of the scene, I am talking about all the elements of the painting that contribute to the feeling you have when you look at it. This includes the time of day, the long shadows, the hazy light, fog, etc. If we can focus on the atmosphere of the scene, we can elevate our work from being just a picture on paper to being something that can evoke feeling. This creates another layer for our viewers to engage with. 

One of the keys to portraying an atmosphere is thinking about the edges of a brushstroke. If you have hazy light or a foggy scene, you're going to want to create more soft edges. The best way to do this in watercolor is to paint on a damp surface. If the light is more direct, you are going to need harder edges. If you can learn how to use different edges to portray the atmosphere of the scene, you can depict varying atmospheres.

3. Top watercolor artists portray light accurately. One of the most effective ways to make your painting believable is by portraying light. If you can do this, you can elevate your watercolor paintings to a more professional grade. 

Portraying light all comes down to seeing and painting values. The way we want to do this is to attune your eye to see values and learn to make a value study. To start with, it's helpful to break up values into three sections: lights, mid-tones, and darks. When you group them like this, you can more easily paint your lights first. Then you’ll focus on your large, middle value connected shape over the top of that, and finally, you’ll add your darks to complete the scene. If this is something you want to dig into more, I have a whole course that teaches you how to see and paint correct values. So you can always check that out! You can also listen to what Andy Evansen has to say about it in my interview with him. 

4. Top watercolor artists choose paintable - even simple - subjects. It can be tempting to want to tackle a very detailed, beautiful landscape with cascading mountains and wildflowers and butterflies coming off the flowers. And I’m not saying you can’t paint this, but it is freeing when you realize that some of the most incredible paintings in the catalog are very simple scenes. The watercolor artist has picked a simple subject, honed in on it, and created an amazing painting. 

5. Top watercolor artists have a distinct style. There is no way to learn how to paint without absorbing influences from other artists. This is a natural part of learning. And every artist that you've ever admired has absorbed their own influences. But the next step is really important, too: to develop your own visual language over time. 

 Many people ask, “How do you develop your own style of painting?” There is no quick fix. You learn and develop your own style by continuing to paint, by continuing to absorb influences. Try not to latch on to one person's work too much. Find two or three artists that really inspire you and take the best things from each of these. Ultimately, though, the answer to “what is my style?” is inside of you.

Focusing on these five things can elevate your work and help you to improve as an artist. 

Thank you once again for spending time with me today. Time is the most valuable thing that we have, and I'm honored that you would watch my video and spend some time learning with me today.

And, as always, keep working, keep learning, and I will see you next time!

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