Lesson 2: Brushes

My second watercolor class was today and we learned about different types of brushes.  Flat brushes, round brushes, sable vs. synthetic, riggers, etc.  My teacher, Ken showed us how to make telephone poles and perfect square and circles with a flat brush.  He also showed us how to use a hard bristle fan brush to create splatter.  Then we had 15 minutes to paint a painting with a flat brush only (pictured above left).  As you can see, I really like to use water, which makes my 15 minute paintings bleed but I kind of like the bleeding.  It gives them character, right? 😉

Ken also showed us the importance of highlighting shadows (he added a couple to my homework from last week – pictured right).  We also discussed the difference between value and intensity.  I am really enjoying the class.

Homework for this week: paint a painting with intense color.  I love color so I can’t wait to dive into this one!