Watercolors are a wonderfully accessible paint. Sure, you can get super high-end, high-grade watercolors, but cheaper, entry-level sets are just as much fun, and easy for all ages to enjoy. On that note, have you taken a look at Creativebug yet? If you search for “watercolor,” you’ll find tons of fun instructional videos, prompts, and ideas. One I particularly liked was “Daily Painting Challenge: Flowers, Fruits and the Natural World,” taught by Carolyn Gavin. It’s a 31-day challenge, which means there’s a new prompt for every single day, along with a video to show you how you might paint that day’s subject. (Though nothing is stopping you from going at your own pace, be that faster or slower, which is really the beauty of it.)
Feeling inspired yet? The ideas don’t stop there. Try out these ebooks for all experience levels on how to use watercolor paints!
Beginner’s Watercolour: Simple Projects for Artists by Pavilion
(From OverDrive) “Over 20 simple watercolour projects for beginners, packed with techniques and tips. Paint beautiful watercolours with ease, even if you’ve never picked up a brush! With a fully illustrated step-by-step introduction and a range of beautiful projects to paint, you’ll quickly go from painting novice to art aficionado.”
Modern Watercolor by Kristin Van Leuven
(From Hoopla) “It’s time to get your feet wet with watercolors! This dynamic and inspirational guide will set you down a path of exploration as you learn to play with watercolors. You will learn to effectively use basic techniques and principles to create beautiful, expressive works of art. In Modern Watercolor, artists will discover how to paint in watercolor by harnessing the medium’s unique transparent qualities to create stunning works of art, stationery, gifts, and more.”
Creative Watercolor by Ana Victoria Calderon
(From Hoopla) “Creative Watercolor offers beginners a fun, modern, and practical approach to a timeless medium with instructions on how to paint simple motifs and lettering and embellish projects beautifully. In Creative Watercolor, popular watercolor artist and workshop instructor Ana Victoria Calderon shares her step-by-step techniques for painting modern motifs in this classic medium. Through a series of easy tutorials and projects, you will: get an overview of basic materials and tools, plus options for embellishing your paintings. Master essential techniques, starting with easy warm-up activities, learning to layer, and getting into the flow with watercolor, plus an introduction to scanning and digital editing for making multiples.”
Water Paper Paint: Exploring Creativity with Watercolor and Mixed Media by Heather Smith Jones
(From Hoopla) “This book is not only for “painters” but for all types of creative individuals who want to experience and play with watercolor, whether their background is mixed-media, textile art, journaling, or paper craft. Unlike the typical watercolor text books, this unique, beautiful volume is a field book of inspiration, creative ideas, how to’s, and projects, all from an artist’s perspective. Each creative exercise features a technique, shows step-by-step photographs, and includes a clever idea for a gift or project that can be made from the painted samples.”
