Ana Victoria Calderon - Creative Watercolor and Mixed Media

Watercolors are accessible, easy to use with some basic knowledge, and work well with a variety of other mediums. Because the formula is so pure, once activated with water the paints are quite easy to manipulate. Watercolor paints are made from a few simple ingredientspigment, a binder formula, and water, which eventually evaporates. The pigments and formulas vary depending on the quality of the brand and type of watercolor. In general, watercolor is a great medium to work with because of its simplicity and water solubility. Unlike oil or acrylic paint, watercolor is translucent and blends easily with neighboring colors when applied with enough water. Watercolor is fluid, which means it flows in different directions once applied to paper. The amount of water used, and in this case other mediums, changes the reaction of your wash to create all kinds of textures that activate on their own without much intervention.

The medium offers numerous interesting tricks exclusive to this type of paintfrom mixing watercolors with salt, to adding texture with plastic wrap, to applying iridescent effects, to being the foundational layer for opaque paints. Youre in for an exciting treat!

A NOTE ABOUT THE PROJECTS

Artists arent necessarily scientists. While the themes, effects, and projects in this book take many cues from nature, astronomy, and even gemology, the images arent intended to be accurate or scientific. For this book, creative exploration and artistic expression are what matter most.

In this chapter I share a variety of supplies that you can use for the activities in this book. Because were working with mixed media as well as watercolor, there are many mediums that are optional or interchangeable. Dont feel as though you need to use the exact supplies I use to achieve magical results; use the paints you have and experiment with what you can. In fact, you probably have most of these supplies around the house already.

As youll discover in this book, watercolor not only mixes well with other mediums and household supplies, but its also fantastic at mixing between types and brands of watercolors. In my artistic practice, I usually work with pans, liquids, and tubes, which I mix in a single palette. Theyre interchangeable and complement each other perfectly.

Some of my favorite brands of watercolor paints are shown opposite.

Pans (Watercolor Cakes) (A)

Kremer

Schmincke

Sennelier

Winsor & Newton (Cotman is their affordable student-grade line)

Tubes (B)

Daniel Smith

Holbein

Winsor & Newton

Liquids (C)

Dr. Ph. Martins

Ecoline

GOUACHE

Adding Opacity to Translucent Watercolors

Gouache is sometimes referred to as opaque watercolor, although gouache also shares some properties with acrylic paints because of its thicker consistency and ability to layer from dark to lightsomething that isnt possible with traditionally translucent watercolors. Gouache paints are also similar to watercolors in many ways, the biggest similarity being that both are watersoluble and reactivate with water. Gouache can also be watered down enough to achieve some sort of transparency or watercolor look, but it doesnt blend the same way watercolor does. Many artists enjoy gouache as their main medium; its wonderful in its own way.