How I learned to paint

2017.07.01

Where do I start? I guess I’ll choose the watercolour artists that I have learned from since I began painting back in 2012.

Charles Reid
Charles Reid

The first master I learned from was Charles Reid, I found his technique very appealing and I liked his easy going style. It wasn’t only his watercolour skills that I admired – I just loved his drawing technique too. I have only attended a watercolour class once in my life so almost everything I have learned is from DVD or book. You can find Charles Reid’s videos here. He has also written a number of books, “The Natural Way to Paint” being my favourite. You can visit his website here.

Alvaro Castagnet
Alvaro Castagnet

The second watercolour master that caught my attention was the charismatic and totally flamboyant Alvaro Castagnet. I just love his self confidence, I revisit Alvaro’s videos often. APV films is who I have bought most of my DVDs from over the years, they seem to have cornered the market. Like Mr. Reid, Alvaro has written a number of books. I have, “Beyond Technique: Painting With Passion” which I enjoyed very much.

Joseph Zbukvic.
Joseph Zbukvic.

As I improved over the years I started to look at Joseph Zbukvic’s DVDs, he is a real master of watercolour. You can buy his videos at APV films. I look at my five DVDs featuring Zbukvic’s lessons on a regular basis, there is so much to learn. I would like to buy his book, “Mastering Atmosphere & Mood In Watercolor”, published 2002. I have found secondhand copies on eBay but they are way too expensive, I hope to find an example at a reasonable price someday. My ambition is to be as good as Mr. Z but first I must complete those 10 000 hours of practice before I can even come close. I may never be as good as Joseph but I think it is important to set one’s goals high. You can visit his website here.

Chien Chung-Wei
Chien Chung-Wei

Watercolour master Chien Chung-Wei appeared on my radar not so long ago, I think it was “The World of Watercolour” magazine that featured him in an interview. He has been my most important inspiration and teacher during the last year. I attended my first watercolour course at EPC art courses held in Girona, Spain last October 2016. EPC art courses are run by Angela Barbi and she attracts the best watercolour artists from around the globe. I can totally recommend attending one of her courses. I learned so much that week, Chien Chung-Wei who is from Taiwan has been a teacher for many years and it shows in his teaching. He was very entertaining and he had great structure to his course. Chien explained his design and composition theories to us as well as wonderful demos each day during the course. I honestly do not feel the need to go on another course for a while as I learned so much during that week in Spain, I have to practice what he teached, it could take years.

Lars Lerin
Lars Lerin

I have learned from other artists, they have no DVDs but by studying their work I have learned much, artists like William Turner, Anders Zorn, Lars Lerin and many more.