Wonders of Watercolor

Hi guys. I'd like to introduce you to my awesome friend Megan. She lives in Seattle with her equally awesome husband, and their mini-awesome son. Megan and I quickly became friends during our AmeriCorps year, and have only become better friends in the time that's passed. She is also my only fellow-blogger friend too! Not only was I lucky enough to get a 3-day visit from Megan last weekend, but the Girls Team also lucked out...She wanted to participate in and lead us in a MIHM project! 

Megan is an accomplished artist, so we asked her to choose the project. We were up for anything! She definitely came prepared. She planned an entire watercolor painting project for the Girls Team, and it was so much fun!  

We didn't have to do anything in preparation for this MIHM. Megan brought all the tools: special watercolor paper (which prevents bleeding), her fancy brush set, and all of the paint. So many pretty colors! 

Since Megan was teaching us how to paint with watercolors, she also found inspiration for our paintings on Etsy. The artist she found paints a variety of trees using watercolor dots. We all thought they were so pretty! It was helpful to have an example to refer to as we started on our projects.

Because we were new to painting and not comfortable free-handing it with real paint, Megan showed my mom and I how to sketch out out tree trunks on paper. I drew mine directly onto the watercolor paper using a pencil; my mom drew hers onto binder paper. Then Megan taught her how to transfer the sketch by pressing down and coloring it with pencil, so the lead transfers on the reverse side of the paper.

Transfer tricks.

Once our tree trunks were sketched out in pencil, it was time to go for it with the paint! Megan taught us how to mix the paint with water in a variety of ways depending on how dark we wanted to color, or the specific "look" or technique we were going for.

Our technique was basically "paint without messing up."

Megan, on the other hand, was totally dominating her watercolor paper. She was using different shading techniques which added a cool 3-D element to her work. She was also multi-tasking, sharing some funny stories from art classes when she was working towards her degree in fine arts.

Never having painted with watercolors, my mom and I were so impressed by how easy it was to mix the paints for lighter or deeper colors. It was fun to experiment with more or less water and see how that changed the image. Megan also taught us the "thirsty brush" technique...if you have too much water on the paper, you can use your brush to suck the water back up, off of the paper. It was a trick that we used more than once! 

We learned two different ways to paint. One, you put water directly onto the paper and then add the paint to it until you get your desired color shade, or two, mix the paint with water on the pallet and apply directly to the paper at one time. We went with the latter option since our skills were still at "noob" level. :) 

After we learned the technique and painted our tree trunks, it was time for the dots. My mom and I used shades of blue paint. This was so relaxing. There was no rush, no right answer and no pressure. Because watercolors kind of have a mind of their own, whatever you paint might expand or shift a bit so you have to let go of expectations and be flexible and open with your work!

Megan decided to get fancy and add some cool yellow dots into her tree!

This project was a great intro to watercolor painting. It was challenging, because it was something new, but it wasn't so hard that we couldn't enjoy ourselves. We spent the afternoon in a calmly painting away and talking for a few hours before taking Megan to the airport.

 

Our finished pieces! 

Having never painted with watercolors before, my mom and I were so impressed. We loved how our trees turned out. It was fun to see how they all turned out so differently, like we each had our own style (even though my mom and I weren't really trying for a "style" so-to-speak). We took about two hours from start to finish with this project, but we were in no rush. I personally loved painting and found it to be very relaxing and enjoyable. I looked into a few watercolor classes through the Parks and Rec department to possibly expand my skills. This is definitely something I'd like to continue!

We were so lucky to have Megan, the artist and expert teacher, to guide us through this MIHM project on a rainy Sunday. The Girls Team would never have even thought to try watercolor painting without her suggesting and teaching us. When I asked Megan what her tips to watercolor painting would be, she said: 1) Let the water do some of the work for you. 2) There is no right/wrong when it comes to painting. And 3) Practice, and you'll learn through experience. She added, "To me, watercolors are simple (compared to oils and acrylics). Quick dry time, easy to clean up, not smelly so you can paint inside. It also makes it easy to start and stop without a big ordeal so you can focus on the fun part."

The Girls Team had a great time spending the day learning a new art form and hanging out with Megan. I am so grateful for her friendship and her amazing talent. This project was so inspirational; you really can try anything once, and who knows, maybe like us with watercolor painting, you'll really love it!