by: Linda Riesenberg Fisler
Last Monday, September 19th, we released our latest Art Chat. We interviewed Artistic Harmonies Association Honorary Member Annie Strack. Annie is a watercolor artist but also paints with oils, which made it very fun for me to talk to her about painting with watercolors. I had the opportunity to discuss how the two mediums were alike and how they differed. Our chat provided great insight for someone who always wanted to try watercolors and dabbled with it only in my studio.
Like any adventure into the creative process, experience is always key. My biggest fear with watercolor is making a mistake on the very last stroke! Annie explained that oils are very forgiving compared to watercolors (you can’t scrape a watercolor off the paper without ruining the paper), and there are things you can do to save the painting.
In our discussion, the key seemed to be understanding your watercolor paints. Of course, the same can be said about oil paints, and the terminology is similar. Opaque, translucent, and how much pigment each color has are just some of the understanding you need to acquire through practice.
The road to a great watercolor painting looks much the same as any other creative expression—How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice, Practice, Practice!! (And some brilliant instructors/teachers/mentors helping us along the way!)
Check out Annie’s Art Chat here: