Writer Bob Dunn has somehow escaped having artistic abilities in a family of artists. His brother used to be able to reproduce book illustrations, while his mother decorated the house with paintings of landscapes, cartoon characters, and solar systems. To try to settle some sibling rivalry, Dunn decided to take a watercolor painting lesson from artist Brooke Schnabel.
Schnabel challenged Dunn to see art in the every day — in this case, their subject was a mug and several oranges. They started off with a contour drawing, which gave a strong basis for the size and scale of the end product, and began filling in the space with watercolor. In the end, Dunn produced a painting that he was somewhat proud of. “With my mother and brother both hundreds of miles away in two different states, maybe finding some wall space at home for my painting will make that gap between us feel a little smaller,” Dunn writes.
If you don’t think you have any artistic abilities, think again. If you have any desire at all to create art but just lack confidence in skill and execution, taking a class on watercolor painting would be an excellent springboard to develop your artistic skills. Watercolor painting is perhaps the most forgiving genre of art, giving you a chance to comfortably develop your skills. Class will focus on basic techniques like how to properly load your brush with color, typical brushstrokes to make, and how to blend water colors already on the paper.