3 Essential Advanced Watercolor Tips - Explained for Beginners & Pros

[@M0odyBlue]

You are one of my favorite KZbin instructors and artists. Love your style! Thanks so much for your informative videos. Wishing you a very Happy, Healthy, Joy Filled, and Prosperous 2024!

[@rachelparkervarner]

Happy New Year to you too and thank you much!

[@eleniphotos]

Thanks Rachel! Love watching you. You're always very informative no matter how many times you say it. I know how excited is to be juried in a show with your favorite subject. I once had a pic of my cat Sam, in a show in Bulgaria! (It was a show dedicated to cats !) Yes, many great KZbin watercolour artists, I follow many but you are the ONLY one I pay for on Patreon, & gladly too!

[@rachelparkervarner]

That is so sweet Eleni! How cool to be in a show in Bulgaria - are you in the US?

[@joykruczay]

Rachel, watching you paint is always inspiring! Making the decisions on where to put the soft edges is a sticking point for me. The “windmill” principle is one I try to keep in mind, but have a difficult time implementing it. The lost edges make my paintings look too “unfinished”. Interpretation of a subject is tough, as I came from a very technical background and tend to be too literal. Painting is mainly a series of decision making. As the late Diane Maxey said in a workshop, “You paint with your brain.” And the decisions that you made with Sam were creative to the nth degree. Acceptance into these shows must have been thrilling for you. Congrats on the start of a laudable accomplishment! How fortuitous that you mention HP paper, as I am just finishing up something on New York Central HP, received as part of a sample pack. It seems to lift too readily, as I use too much water and tend to overwork. The water does not sink in well, almost like cellulose, even though it is cotton. So that may be the paper or my faulty technique. Susan Harrison-Tustain uses HP paper, and double wets it. I do have a block of Arches HP I have not tried yet. I bought it years ago b/c I did a painting of my late cat, Jake, on a piece of sample paper that turned out so well I framed it. Likely it was a “keeper” b/c it was “only” a sample and I was less inhibited with it. Since the HP does not have any tooth, I have read that the paint sits more on the surface, resulting in brighter colors. I will have to use more of my "good" papers, and no longer buy any non-cotton paper. One is only wasting supplies that sit unused. Plus, the money is already spent, so you might as well enjoy them. That is my story and I'm sticking to it! 😀

[@rachelparkervarner]

Joy - a good way to have your hand held a bit as far as lost and found edges is to find a well lit reference photo that already has light on light and dark on dark edges, because that is where your lost edges will be. I have found that some hot press papers, like Hahnmemuhle don't lift the same as Stonehenge, so I can only vouch for how Stonehenge works. I will publish a new free video tomorrow (Saturday) that will share hot press painting tips so stay tuned!

[@fizzzy2342]

Thank you Rachel! ❤ I hope you have a fantastic New Year!

[@ruthherring6035]

You’re a great teacher Rachel!

[@rachelparkervarner]

Thank you Ruth!

[@BarBaraWhorleyCrawfordESS]

Girl you are uhmazing! Thank you for your insights and passion. ❤

[@rachelparkervarner]

Thank you so much! I have tons of these kinds of videos so I hope you'll come back and watch more!

[@rebeccabeal8538]

You have such good information and new techniques

[@rachelparkervarner]

Thank you so much ❤

[@donnafullerton]

Nice lighting in the room.

[@rachelparkervarner]

Thank you Donna. I'm lucky to have big windows

[@marymccaslin1690]

Just an FYI that the Asian brush you show in this video is no longer available from Blick. I love it, can you recommend an alternative?

[@rachelparkervarner]

amzn.to/3TVrp8U Happy New Year Mary!

[@suel4269]

Happy New Year 🎉

[@rachelparkervarner]

Happy New Year

[@janetdegenhardt5999]

Bamboo goat brush set alternative, please, as the brushes in the link you provided are no longer available. I am excited to try them.

[@rachelparkervarner]

Here is a link that will take you to a size 12, but then you can click on 'see all' to choose what size you would like tinyurl.com/376d99ea

[@Orchidblue24]

Question: Do you know if the Lamp Black in stick form performs the same way as the tube? Thanks for your fun videos. They always have a sparkle of new knowledge!

[@rachelparkervarner]

Yes, that will fur out too!

[@fuzzydragons]

cant beat a good cheap brush, haver to save money somewhere on supplies 😀

[@rachelparkervarner]

Exactly!

[@M0odyBlue]

My dog chewed my Escobar sable size 12 brush, so now I have a “custom” frayed brush!😂😂

[@rachelparkervarner]

Oh no!

[@jillscheffer459]

Hi Rachel...what are your rules for selling completed projects from your patreon tutorials? I love your teaching methods and beautiful art but before I join...I would like to be clear on what is and isnt allowed. ive been painting from free reference photos and people have shown a little bit of interest but Id like to go next level and think i can with your teachings. Thank you!

[@rachelparkervarner]

You are welcome to sell your originals, just not prints or merch unless it's for friends and family or charity. I'm sorry it took me so long to find this and reply!!

[@diogoxavier3287]

Your voice on 1.5x sounds just like Lachri Fine Art 😮

[@rachelparkervarner]

Haha funny - love her.