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Ron Kasprisin is a Professor Emeritus, College of Built Environments, University of Washington and a Signature Member of the Northwest Watercolor Society. He lives on Whidbey Island northwest of Seattle.

This blog discusses how to set up your painting space; how to overcome those initial trepidations and fears, all natural to the process; and, get you a basic setup for painting.

When I began watercolor painting, i was intimidated by the process, engaging something very different then my pen and ink drawing identity. I bought books, supplies, brushes, etc. and essentially "circled the wagon" many times, afraid or hesitant, choose one, to engage the act of painting. A basic fear, accept it and move through it. Sooooooooooo........\

Step One: Set up a permanent space for your painting activity, no matter how small.

I spent time setting up my painting supplies, arranging my space, wasting time, then got distracted and went to another activity, "circling the wagons".  when you have a small and relatively personal space that is your space, it is so much easier to quickly set up and start playing, quickly dispersing initial trepidations.

Step Two: play, do not try to make a 'painting'

Stay loose, avoid being serious about making something special, perfect, precious, etc. and the way you accomplish that is by playing (a free activity devoid of failure, no competition or comparison). the intent is to become familiar with the tools, equipment and paints in a free and playful manner to build skills and an understanding of the fundamental principles involved in the painting process.

Step Three: do not compare yourself to anyone else and their work

Every painter is at a different level then the next; and each person's efforts produce a unique expression, regardless of experience. you can admire the work of a more experienced painter, learn from the work and do not compare yourself with that work or person or you will box yourself in to another version of fear or trepidation. you are unique and what you express on paper is unique and an extension of your own engagement.

Step Four: take the time to read and practice some basic fundamentals that can help you avoid unnecessary obstacles.

there are a number of ways of exposing yourself to principles and basic techniques: read books on watercolor painting that discuss these basic principles not merely display work; and, if at all possible, attend local workshops as they are valuable in terms of gaining knowledge and practice under the eye of a more experienced painter.

Authors that I recommend: Jean Dobie (colored grays and color mixing), Skip Lawrence (value painting), Charles Reid (merging on the paper)

BASIC SETUP FOR PAINTING

Okay, you can spend a lot of money on watercolor supplies and you dont really need to go there. the following describes the basics to get started and the more you advance the more you can add to your tool chest.

What Not To Buy!

Brushes: do not buy any brush that has no resilience; that is, when it is wet and you bend the tip over and it does not come back, it has not resilience, dont buy. Nice brushes like squirrel, horse hair etc. hold water but are not resilient. Bristle brushes are stiff and used for acrylics and oils so do not buy as they dont hold water adequately. Most manufacturers make quality synthetic watercolor brushes, student grade, that are just fine and less expensive. more later.

Palettes: do not buy any small palette such as travel palettes as they do not hold enough pigment and do not have large enough mixing areas; unless of course you are travelling! more later.

Pigments: There are quality student grade watercolor pigments available, so buy the gel in tubes (no cakes at this time); AND ALWAYS BUY A PIGMENT WITH A COMMON NAME SUCH AS "CERULEAN BLUE", "YELLOW OCHRE" etc.; any pigment tube that is labelled as green, red etc. is not a watercolor or suitable for watercolor.

Papers: watercolor papers come in many varieties, you want to start with student grade pads or blocks that are 140lb paper, not less. avoid expensive papers at this time as you want to use as much cheaper paper, even both sides, as possible as you learn and grow.

OKAY LET'S GO SHOPPING!

(i hate to take business away from local stores but mail order is much cheaper)

Brushes: lots of student grade quality brushes on the market, watercolor brushes not bristle, and resilient; i recommend the following brushes to start with:

a number 12 round (when cut in section it is round)

a number 16 round

a one inch flat (when cut in section it is a flat rectangle)

these will  hold enough water (charge) so you can paint!

larger brushes are available and when you advance to large paper sizes etc. they will become important but for now we are going to focus on small to medium size painting efforts.

Palettes: plastic palettes that have larger mixing areas and at least 8, preferrably 12 pigment wells is recommended. Circular ones have one large mixing area in middle and rectangular ones have usually two square mixing areas about 4 inches square. do not use smaller palettes. you can also use a dinner plate just fine if things are really tight.

Paper: student grade watercolor papers, 140lb., come in pads, blocks, sheets etc. and are useable on both sides in most cases. they have a coating on the paper, sizing, that takes the water. you will see the difference when you advance to quality paper but when starting out the importance is to paint as much as you can, not worry about using expensive paper. more quality paper later, try for 8 x 10 or 9 x 12 pads.

Pigments: Okay, to simplify things let us put the pigments in "families of color": delicate or transparent, staining, and opaque.

Delicate or Transparent Family: Rose madder, cobalt blue, aurolean or azo yellow; why are they delicate? they are rich colors that actually can be lifted off the paper when dry to a great degree, therefore delicate; they are highly transparent, letting light through to hit the paper and are the mainstays of watercolor painting.

Staining or the relatives: these are the staining colors that will not come out of the paper and are more intense in key, used on mixing rich colors and darks (but they are staining!) that is why i call them the cousins, nice to visit but dont say too long. they are usually labelled, permanent, intense, pthalo to indicate their staining nature.

Opaque family: Opaque watercolors disolve less then the other two families and are a bit chalkier; classic pigments are Cerulean Blue, Yellow Ochre, and Cadmium Red.

These are good starting points, more will be added later.

Additional Tools and Equipment

paper towels

synthetic sponge

water bowl for washing out brushes during the process

water jug (if not near water source)

art erasure

sketching pencils (no charcoal) and the lightere the better, hb is nice

sketch book (call it a scribble book if you are new to or have trepidation about sketching) more later

Okay, we paint the next blog! go have fun finding these materials but do not come back with cousin irenes bristle brushes or cousin joes tiny weeeny brushes that hold no water.