Words of Wisdom - The making of a watercolor artist

By Henry W. Dixon, NWS, TWS, CWA, WW

The camera for the painter, be it oil, acrylic or watercolor is as important as his brush or any other tool in his arsenal. For this article I'm addressing the beginning watercolor artists.

When using a camera (preferably digital), your goal SHOULD NOT be to produce a photographic masterpiece, but if the subjects and forms within the picture are not only interesting but beyond that, dynamic, then the goal should be to produce a dynamic watercolor painting. The camera happens to be my favorite tool, a means to an end. It's a means for me to capture my favorite subject without sitting it out in a field or asking someone to pose while I paint, but a means for me to capture and paint in my studio. Hopefully this article will reach out to those watercolor artist, beginning or professional, who are of a similar persuasion.

Watercolor by itself is an ever-lasting art experience, but the process of development can be enjoyable at any stage.

In my early years of trying to enter juried exhibitions to "become known," with my "dynamic" watercolor entries from paintings developed from photographic imagery, being accepted was few and far between. But as I continued to paint, continued to search for examples of other artists who were winning top awards and being accepted into the world's top exhibitions, continued studying their work and reading "their" articles, I realized that with much work and even more perseverance, I could do it also.

Eventually those opportunities came and I started reaching those same accomplishments. If you are a beginning watercolor artist, find an established artist that you admire a great deal and use him or her as a mentor for your own improvement and accomplishments. You can have several mentors that will afford you the opportunity to tap into a polo immense and diverse ideas. Most professional accomplished artists will be more than happy to mentor you, the up-and-comer, but at the same time you must be respectful of their time.

This article is written on the assumption that most readers will be not only interested in tips from and accomplished watercolor artist but also in ways of mastering the art of watercolor.

One of the beauties of watercolor painting is that it allows you to move ahead quickly. In a few weeks time you can explore a full range of techniques and applications, thus discovering the medium's possibilities and preparing yourself for the more important task of developing a personal self-fulfillment.

After you have pondered about and explored the few thoughts in this article, what you (the beginner) decide to do with watercolor is of great concern to me as a watercolorist. Unfortunately, we can't meet and sit down together for a personal one-on-one discussion of your paintings, but perhaps some "general" advise would be helpful.

*First…DO NOT, let anyone tell you that it's "not artistic" (or a similar phrase) to use your camera as a tool for painting. Many of the great artists of the past used photographic references to paint from. John Singer Sargent, my favorite watercolorist, and one of the world's greatest artist of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries used photographic references on a regular basis, as does many artists of today. Saying it's wrong to use the camera as a painting tool is a myth.

*Second, one thing you will need, if you are to work independently, is a way of keeping your spirits up. One of the things that helped me was getting a number of paintings framed and working with libraries and restaurant owners to exhibit my work at their establishment. There is no better feeling that having a few selected watercolor paintings proudly displayed for everyone to admire.

*Finally, I urge you to consider entering your work in local or even national juried exhibitions. Juried means that another artist that is of national and international acclaim examines the entries submitted and decides whose paintings get an award whether cash or merchandise. You may not be ready to take this step for a while, but it is something to aim for, because showing your work, in a sense, completes the creative experience.

I hope you, the beginning watercolor artist, will avail yourself of these opportunities, and that the advice and information conveyed in this article will contribute in a small measure to your success.