Handmade watercolor paints, classes, artwork
WOULD YOU ADD GOLD LEAF TO A WATERCOLOR PAINTING?
Yeah!!!!
GOLD LEAF adds magic to any painting, any medium, lol, to my opinion. I love using it when I paint with my handmade watercolors. It's just instant magic!
Luscious green, with some degree of granulation. Wisdom of Trees, handmade watercolor paint by elenaartpages.com
Everyone always says that watercolor can be stressful. I agree to a point. When you give yourself time and learn to "play" with it, it becomes such a "grateful" medium! I know it from my personal painting experience.
Here are my thoughts:
Engaging in therapeutic watercolor painting is a soothing and introspective experience, allowing individuals to express emotions and thoughts through the gentle strokes of a brush.
As the watercolor pigments blend and flow on the paper, it mirrors the fluidity of emotions, helping to release tension and promote a sense of calmness.
The vibrant hues of the watercolors can evoke different moods, providing a creative outlet for individuals to explore and understand their feelings in a non-verbal way.
The unpredictability of watercolor techniques encourages a mindfulness practice, as artists focus on the present moment and embrace the beauty of imperfections in their creations.
Whether it's a simple abstract piece or a detailed scene, therapeutic watercolor painting becomes a personal journey of self-discovery and emotional release, fostering mental well-being through artistic expression.
God Bless, my friends! Keep painting, keep creating!
Love, Elena
I love watercolor, no matter what, however, I definitely am biased to the HANDMADE KIND when it comes to richness of color, saturation, ease of activation, and many, many other reasons?
Here's why:
Quality of Ingredients:
Handmade watercolors use high-quality pigments with some or no fillers (ElenaArtPages watercolours have no fillers). Artists may appreciate the use of specific pigments or the absence of certain additives that can be found in mass-produced watercolors.
Control over Pigment Ratio:
Since I make my own watercolor paint, I have control over the pigment-to-binder ratio or single pigment color as well as desired mixes. This allows for customization of color intensity, transparency, and other characteristics according to the quality standards of my (Elena Art Pages) production process.
Customization and Uniqueness:
Handmade watercolors provide artists with the ability to create unique colors that may not be available in commercial sets. This customization allows for greater creativity and a more personal touch in artistic works. Some of the colors that I mixed for years, I have enjoyed immensely and find reaching for more and more.
Texture and Granulation:
Some artists appreciate the granulation and texture that can be achieved with handmade watercolors. The process of making watercolors by hand may result in unique textures and effects that are not commonly found in mass-produced paints. GRANULATION is one of the most unique qualities of watercolor and the results can be stunning in a simple texture rendering.
I have to confess that I have very successfully combined both in my painting process.
Supporting Artisans:
Artisans who purchase handmade watercolor paints know how rich colors and textures create spectacular paintings on watercolour paper. Artists who prefer to support small businesses or individual craftsmen who put effort into creating bespoke, artisanal watercolors paints understand how much richer and vibrant colors are and how they reflect in their personal art works.
Environmental Considerations:
Artists concerned about environmental impact may appreciate the handmade approach, as it may involve fewer industrial processes and packaging materials compared to mass production. Handcrafted watercolor paints are better for the environment with less waste and packaging materials. Handmade artist quality watercolor paints equals go green (no pun intended!).
Connection to the Art-Making Process:
Artisanal watercolors made by hand is a more involved and intimate process for watercolor paint making with the end product in my opinion that much better in spectacular colors and paint textures. Some artists enjoy the connection to the handcrafted paints to create their watercolor masterpieces in their journey artistic expression in watercolor paintings.
Handmade handcrafted artist quality watercolors have many distinct advantages in terms of color, richness and textures, we at Elena Art Pages know that densely packed pigments in our watercolors truly make your paintings all the better!
Embrace the artistic mess!
Hugs Elena!
Try out my handmade watercolors. Made by myself, Elena at ElenaArtPages.com.
HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN WATERCOLOR BRUSHES DIY
In the past few years, I realized that the need for smaller (pocket) size watercolor brushes has risen dramatically. Not only because they are excellent to take with you on the road, but also because they take a lot less space in your pencils case and, for that matter, they can actually fit into your pencil case.
However, if you start looking for those types of brushes, you will notice that the prices, as well as the selection, are not as attractive as you might have thought. So, to make my life easier, I decided to take a few brushes of my own and see what I could do with them to make them more portable since I have my travel watercolor palettes in miniature and on the go ready at all times.
There are two ways I figured out that would work well for me.
THE FIRST METHOD - is the simplest of all.
I took a few good quality but used (1-year-old) proven brushes that I like and trust and simply cut off the wooden handle to fit the size of my pencils case. Quickly mention here, that my tiny pencil case is nothing other than a small makeup brush holder. I really like it because it is super flat and takes very little space.
YES, IT IS ALL ABOUT THE SPACE!
SECOND METHOD
Try to locate a cosmetic brush with a cap. Quite often you can find those online. The type of brush that normally comes with a metal cap is the one you might use for lips or nails. Use the casing of that brush to replace it with the watercolor one.
I even managed to use sizes 8 and 10 (which normally have quite a thick handle) to make my own watercolor pocket brushes well suited for traveling.
CLAY WATERCOLORS
There are a few colors that I never really brought forward but always had in my personal painting pox. The colors that I would use to use either as they are or to tone down the other colors. I call the CLAY WATERCOLORS. Some of them have a very slight shimmer but they are matt in their texture. They are also slightly more GOUACHE-looking.
These colors are: CLAY ROSE, CLAY PURPLE. FRENCH GREY, CLAY BROWN, SPARKLE CLAY BEIGE and MOCCHA, AQUA STONE, BLUE LIME, BLUE EARTH (with very subtle iridescence), GREEN EARTHE.
Some of them are still curing and will be available sometime in early October.
Don't forget to signup for my newsletter to be updated when new colors become available.
Thank you! Happy painting!
Spring and summer are the perfect seasons to rediscover the joy of watercolor painting. As the world begins to bloom with vibrant greens, gl...
