Watercolor Warm Up Workshop with Angela Fehr

 

I developed this series of watercolor warm up activities to help you loosen up on your way to becoming your own favorite artist. Enjoy!

Watercolor Warm Ups: Introduction

Tip 1: Warm up by playing with color!

Tip 2: Warm up with fun mark making!

When I play with my brush, I develop my confident brush handling skills and a signature brush style. I love that!

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Tip 3: Painting without a brush

Tip 4: Making mud

Brown is never just brown - learning to see the complex beauty of neutral colors becomes easier when you spend some time intentionally making "mud" in your warm up. Try combining different complementary and near-complementary colors to make a rainbow of neutrals, then use your favorite combos in a painting.

Tip 5: Exploring value - Use just one color to play with

TIp 6: Freedom to paint en plein air (even if you aren’t very good at it)

Let's get outside and paint with freedom from trying to make your painting look perfect. I've learned to approach plein air painting with more emotion and less focus on accuracy. 1. Take time to observe and tune your senses to your environment. Look. Listen. Smell. Breathe. Feel. 2.

Tip 7: 3-minute WArm-up paintings

Painting ten quick versions of a scene is a great way to loosen up and explore creative modes of expression. Choose a simple subject and try experimenting with color, shape and line as you quickly paint each version.

Tip 8: Intuitive Color Play

There’s nothing like a couple new hues to spark some playful creativity! This intuitive floral started with a single brush stroke, and it looked like a flower, so I went with it.

Wait! There’s more!

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