Click the image to see it larger in my Gallery10 x 14 in - 25 x 36 cm. A group of net based artists have been painting their local land marks in a bi-weekly challenge. The plan is that after a year we will have a good record of both our painting style and local area.Clicking the image will get you a larger version and show another link to get to my reference photo.
Minimum Watercolour paper size?
The other day I saw a beginner say - "I am using paper that is 6 x 8 inches or smaller until I get the hang of using this medium". My reaction was to comment -
To be honest I think you are making it harder for yourself by working small.
The core of a watercolor is the ability to do washes, work wet-in-wet etc. These are hard enough to do on an 'A4' or 'US letter' sized paper, which I would suggest to a beginner, as being a minimum size. (Better still go for 1/4 imperial sheet 15 x 11 in).
Once you have the skills then you can scale down your paper size but it will still be much harder. Of course you can use watercolour paints at almost any size but the smaller you work the more you will end up being like a gouache painter. Which is fine in but in that case why not just use gouache. The issues are all to do with the time the wash can stay damp. The smaller the washed area less time there is to get water colour effects and interesting watercolour effects take time to develop on the paper.
Was I being too dogmatic, any opinions?
This is a breath of fresh air at the Wokingham exhibition
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