One of the hardest things for people who are just starting out in any kind of art is getting in touch with their own creativity. In the beginning, it's hard to just let go and paint from the heart. Your mind is being filled with techniques and systems for painting, which, in my opinion, tends to drown out your own creativity. It's important to learn techniques, but at some point you should start to draw from your own creative mind.
Whether you are painting a person or a landscape, you should first look at what you are painting. To paint something well, you have to get up close and personal with it. If you want to learn how to paint beautiful landscapes, you should spend time in the place that first inspired you to paint. Only then will you really be able to figure out how to put what you see on canvas.
Drive to the place you want to paint. Bring a pencil and some paper. The best way to get to know a scene well is to spend some time there and draw some sketches. This will really make you pay attention to what you see and help you remember the image and the surroundings.
It is hard to paint with watercolours outside, especially if you are just starting out. The setting is always changing. In some watercolour techniques, the paper needs to be at a certain angle, a certain amount of water needs to be on it, etc. It's hard to get everything right in such a short amount of time, so you should bring a camera just in case you don't manage to catch the scene. Once you've found a good composition, take a lot of pictures from different distances and angles. When you get back to your studio, you'll have some sketches for reference and a lot of great photos to work with. When you first start painting outside, try to choose compositions that aren't too complicated or full of details.
Find people who love watercolour landscape painting as much as you do. This is one of the best ways to get into the hobby. Look online for landscape painters' groups or websites in your area. Talk to people and get to know them. Many of the artists in these groups love to meet up with other artists and plan painting trips. This is a great way to learn something new.
When you paint outside, you don't have to bring your whole studio with you. Many people who are just starting out will bring way too many supplies, which ends up being more of a bother than a help. Bring only the colours and materials you really need to work on a scene.
Remember that things outside change very quickly. The weather and lighting can change in a very short amount of time. You have to be able to paint quickly without making a mess. First, fill in all the big areas, and then go back and start adding details.
A lot of landscape artists start by drawing the sky. Most of the time, the sky is lighter than the rest of the painting. This lets you go from light to dark. How you paint the other parts of your painting is also affected by how you paint the sky.
Don't try to paint every leaf or blade of grass you see when painting things in the foreground that need a lot of detail. Most of the time, this will add too many details that will take attention away from the most important part of your painting. It also takes way too much time if you want to paint outside. Also, a painting isn't supposed to be an exact copy of what you see. Instead, it should show your own unique view of the scene. If you want exact information, you should take a picture.
Don't be afraid to think outside the box. If you are painting a scene and think you should add a few trees here, a bush there, or a bird on a branch, then do so.
If you like a certain place and have painted there before, don't be afraid to go back and paint it again, but this time choose a cloudy day. When the weather changes, you'll be surprised at how different a scene can look.
I hope these tips for painting with watercolours have been helpful. Don't give up if you ever feel discouraged or angry about how things are going. Instead, accept them and learn from them. It will help you paint much better.
