My Watercolor Setup

Sorry for the mix up and the disappearing post. Hopefully I can re-write this.

I took a class a couple of weeks ago on watercolor painting from the excellent Steven Kozar who lives not that far away down in McFarland. I got quite a few good ideas and hints that I'm putting to use and here is a quick shot of my workspace.

Things I've learned:

• Stretching my paper on foamcore boards. I took a full sheet of foamcore and cut it into quarters, stacked them and then wrapped them in packing tape to keep them water resistant. I then soak my paper in water for twenty minutes and then staple the paper to the wrapped board for it to dry. It's much lighter and cheaper than using plywood which is another method I've heard of.
• Using a cheap kitchen sponge to wick off excess water and paint off of the brush. 
• Cut open a large plastic bottle to hold your brush cleaning water. This prevents your brush from getting too contaminated from the dirty water.
• Use thin layers of paint to get clean gradients of color.

It was a fun class and I'm thinking of taking one of his oil painting classes when it comes up in the fall.

View Steven Kozar's Art