Week two of my 8-week skills challenge has come to a close! I spent the week learning about watercolor and practicing mixing colors and painting florals. I really liked this week’s challenge, even though I found it frustrating sometimes.
I watched a bunch of Youtube tutorials and my two favorite artists to learn from were Shayda Campbell and Mako. My “final project” was to create this floral wreath from Shayda.
Since all the craft and art stores are closed, I bought watercolor supplies from Amazon and Etsy. You should definitely do your own research and decide what price point of materials is right for you. I think I could have got a better set of brushes, but the paper and paints were fine for my beginner practice:
Some helpful videos to get you started:
- Essential Watercolor For Beginners: SUPPLIES
- Essential Watercolor For Beginners: TECHNIQUES
- Beginner Watercolor Playlist
I found watercolor really easy to set-up/clean-up, and I liked that I could easily practice for just 20 minutes here and there without needing a lot of supplies. I had the most fun mixing colors and practicing making leaves. I really like Shayda’s floral/leaf videos, so I followed those for my practice sessions each night.
Once I started trying to do “real” paintings, I found myself getting really frustrated. My biggest struggle was figuring out how much water and paint to have on my brush. It may have been an issue with my brushes not holding enough water, but I would often get splotchy paint once my work dried. Even with the frustration, I really enjoyed watercolor and I want to continue practicing and learning more.
I hope you are finding ways to stay busy and active – both mentally and physically.
Up next, Week 3: Oil Pastels
Minted Bold 