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    Fast and Fun Watercolor: Painting Techniques, No Drawing Required!
    Fast and Fun Watercolor: Painting Techniques, No Drawing Required!
    Fast and Fun Watercolor: Painting Techniques, No Drawing Required!
    Ebook344 pages1 hour

    Fast and Fun Watercolor: Painting Techniques, No Drawing Required!

    By Gina Lee Kim

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    About this ebook

    Take a journey through Gina Lee Kim's watercolor palette--with each chapter representing one of the standard colors found in the color wheel. Learn how to merge watercolor and mixed media together without the stress of having to draw out a composition before getting started. Each chapter will demonstrate a unique project and technique, along with a gallery of inspiring works. You will also learn about the emotional symbolism of each color.

       • An approachable, stress-free introduction to watercolor; fine drawing skills are not a requirement
       • Explore each color in the color wheel, while learning about their mixing qualities and the emotional symbolism of colors
       • Tips and advice on carving out time to create, sharing your work with others, and owning your own voice
       • 12 step-by-step demonstrations show how to merge watercolor with a bit of mixed media
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Publishing Group
    Release dateOct 17, 2018
    ISBN9781440351587
    Fast and Fun Watercolor: Painting Techniques, No Drawing Required!

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      Book preview

      Fast and Fun Watercolor - Gina Lee Kim

      Introduction

      Welcome to Fast & Fun Watercolor, a prismatic journey guided by color and mixed-media techniques. The goal of this book is to make watercolor fun and approachable, fast and achievable. By making color the emphasis and then incorporating mixed-media techniques, we can reduce the stress of having to draw things out perfectly in order to begin painting. Forget about making an accurate sketch with photographic likeness. Apply what you intuitively know and be impassioned by the color first.

      This book is divided into two parts. Part I is about all of the tools—both literal and figurative—necessary to an artist’s life. I’ll introduce art supplies, discuss color theory and help you set up a palette based on the color wheel. I’ll also provide some tips on how to invite lifelong creativity and cultivate artistic well-being. I‘ll cover what I practice in the studio, how to find your authentic style and how to keep going when you get creatively stuck.

      Part II focuses on artistic application. This is where we bring our tools out to play! We’ll explore watercolor and mixed-media as we work our way around the color wheel, with each step-by-step technique demonstration featuring a different hue.

      My goal with this book is to help your artistic process become a positive experience. It’s truly an exciting thing to mix media with watercolors, and I hope that this will allow you to see and think about your artwork in new ways. Personally, I know I’m more relaxed about my art when color is the emphasis rather than a perfect drawing. May we always make art like a child—immersed in joyful freedom and uninhibited happiness.

      Calm Trees

      Gina Lee Kim

      Watercolor on 140-lb. (300gsm) cold-pressed watercolor paper

      9 × 12 (23cm × 30cm)

      PART1

      Tools for the

      Artist’s Life

      We’ll set off with some basic information about the art materials and supplies I use in my studio. Then we will explore the fundamental aspects of color theory and how to interpret certain color combinations. An informative pigment chart will help you choose your watercolors. (This is something I wish I'd had when I was starting out!)

      Next, I’ll walk you through my personal painting approach and working method. I’ll provide tips for keeping preparations simple and for creating a workstation that respects your artist tools.

      Finally, we’ll devote some time to honoring the artist’s life, with advice on inviting lifelong creativity and cultivating a healthy sense of artistic well-being. How do we sustain an art practice? How do we handle creative frustrations and setbacks? How do we stay motivated? How do we entice the muse to stay a little longer? We'll consider these questions and more while learning to create a healthy and inviting physical, mental and emotional space.

      I don’t consider myself a creativity expert, but I can share with you the strategies that have helped me navigate this world and embrace my own vulnerability as a working artist. That’s what I love so much about sharing inspiration—when I get inspired, it not only helps me on my own path, it stirs something very tangible and hopeful in others. At the end of the day, we all could use some kindness and support.

      Rumi Says It's Today

      Gina Lee Kim

      Watercolor and mixed media on 140-lb. (300gsm) cold-pressed watercolor paper

      9 × 12 (23cm × 30cm)

      Watercolor Supplies

      Not all of the items shown here are mandatory to get started. Art supplies are expensive, so I always encourage my students to use what they have already and slowly build from there.

      I like to organize my art supplies into two categories: watercolor and mixed media. Because I’m primarily a watercolorist, my studio table is dedicated to watercolor supplies that are nearby and always available.

      PALETTE AND PAINTS

      Tube watercolor paints

      Gouache paints (make sure to have white)

      Color wheel palette or any palette that has at least twelve wells

      BRUSHES

      no. 20 round (extra large or jumbo)

      no. 12 round (large)

      no. 8 round (medium)

      no. 5 round (small)

      no. 6 script liner or rigger

      ACCESSORIES

      Water containers (one for initial cleaning and another for final rinsing)

      Paper towel or rag

      Salt (creates star-like textures)

      Rubbing alcohol (creates ring-like textures)

      Crayons (make sure to have white)

      Watercolor pencils

      PAPER

      Heavier paper means less warping. I use 90-lb. to 140-lb. (190gsm–300gsm) cold-pressed watercolor paper

      PALETTE I love my standard color wheel palette. Notice there are additional wells for ancillary or convenient colors.

      BRUSHES I prefer round brushes. I try to use the largest size round when starting a painting because it also acts as a wash brush. It’s nice to have a variety of natural and synthetic brushes.

      Professional Grade vs. Scholastic Grade Paint

      Try both! Although I use professional artist-grade watercolors, I find it liberating to paint with less expensive, scholastic student-grade paints. Just know that cheaper watercolors may not be lightfast (permanent), and the pigment concentration will be weaker. Some studentgrade watercolors can make a decent glaze. Experiment and test them out to see what works best for you.

      ACCESSORIES Other than brushes, my workstation must be stocked with crayons, salt, rubbing alcohol, white gouache and metallic inks.

      TUBE PAINTS Tube watercolors will give you consistent color performance. I prefer artist-grade tube watercolors because they have high pigment-load and can reactivate quickly with water. When I want to drench my paper with bold washes, I need the immediacy and the fast delivery that tube watercolors can provide.

      I do love my pan watercolor sets, as they are light and portable. However, it’s hard to swirl and keep loading your brush from a tiny half-pan, especially if you like to paint with big brushes like I do.

      Watercolor vs. Gouache

      Think of gouache as an opaque watercolor. In fact, gouache has virtually the same ingredients as watercolor (color pigments, binders and stabilizers), but it also has a chalky whitening agent. This whitening agent turns a transparent medium like watercolor into a solid paint that dries to a matte finish. Gouache has great covering power, yet it remains water-soluble like watercolor. Be careful though—some gouaches are acrylic-gouache hybrids, which will not be water-soluble once dry.

      CRAYONS There’s nothing more intimidating than a perfectly white, blank paper. Before I paint (as you’ll see in the upcoming demonstrations), I often take my watercolor paper and add random swirls and happy scribbles of crayon for several reasons:

      It triggers my inner child and helps me loosen up.

      It adds a beautiful yet subtle atmospheric resist to my watercolor washes.

      It reminds

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