Beginning watercolour

I took up watercolour as a hobby maybe two years ago. It's both simple and hard. I found it difficult to get going on my own and I'm still a long way away from having the basic techniques down pat. But I feel like I'm at a point where it's fun and creatively satisfying. I thought I'd write a bit about the beginner steps that worked for me.

To begin with I tried watching Youtubers paint and attempted to follow them. I did not get much out of this. The first problem I had was that they tend only to show you the paint-on-paper bit, not the wetting and mixing of the paint. That's like showing less than half of what's going on. Getting to know the colours and combining them is one of my favourite parts of doing watercolour.

Secondly, and this is more of a me problem, I found the subject matter that Youtubers tend to do pretty dull. Flowers, coastal scenes and so on. I found out through trial and error that I do best at this when I let go and don't try to be too deliberate about what I'm doing. That has led me towards painting imaginary landscapes.

Sometimes I try to vibe with an initial idea and be led by composition (like in the image shown, which I finished just now). Other times I think about scenes that have appeared in my mind's eye while reading. Books such as What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher, China Miéville's Perdido Street Station and the Strugatsky brothers' Roadside Picnic.

I found it really useful to do a class too. I did one led by Stefan Gevers at The Art Room in Footscray where I learnt some basic techniques. Stefan moreso encouraged us to experiment and play with different tools and media like salt crystals, cling wrap and, well, whatever crap I could find. Luckily I have a lot of crap.

I have a couple of friends who are also interested in watercolour and I've gone out with each of them separately to paint in public, places like Port Melbourne pier and the Botanical Gardens. My favourite paintings from those excursions have been focused on objects rather than whole landscapes, and using a limited palate.

It's such a convivial thing to do: idle chat flows easily between ourselves and with curious passers-by, and it always seems to lead to overhearing others' conversations too.

I feel so relaxed just writing about this! There will be more on this topic. I'm thinking of writing about my favourite colour combinations and what materials I am using.