Thick and Thin

It’s a new month and I’m doing a new “Daily Practice” class at Creative Bug. A quick note here — I’ve subscribed to several different art sites over the years, usually taking advantage of free “trial offers” or special rates. As often as not, I’ve cancelled my subscription or have simply not renewed at the end of a trial period. It’s been different with Creative Bug. I’m loving it. The monthly subscription cost is $7.99 for the “Unlimited” membership. There’s also a pricier “Unlimited Plus” subscription, but I’m happy with the basic membership.

What I’m loving — you’ve probably already guessed this — are the “daily practice” classes. I love coming to the studio each morning with a sense of curious anticipation. I can’t wait to gather up my supplies, log on to Creative Bug, and spend a few minutes getting the creative energies flowing.

The “daily practice” I’m doing now is another class offered by Joy Ting. Like her first class, this one is also called “Color Play“, but it uses watercolor instead of oil pastels and colored pencils. So far this month we’ve looked at the supplies we’ll be using and have started doing a few practice exercises to get acquainted with our watercolors and brushes.

Here we practiced making “thick” and “thin” lines with different brushes.

I used my Cotman watercolor set and played with #8 and #4 watercolor brushes here. This simple practice took only a few minutes, but it helped me build up my watercolor skills, making little dots, drawing lines, creating thick “petal-like” shapes to learn what each brush will do. In addition, it was a chance to try a few “dry brush” strokes.

As with any art materials we use, we need to understand what those materials can do. We need to be aware of different techniques we can employ to create a variety of different effects. This “thick and thin” exercise is a great starting point for learning watercolor, and it’s also a great “refresher” to help us improve our techniques.

Most of all, this exercise is fun to do. It’s quick. It’s easy. It’s colorful. I plan to do this exercise many times using a lot of different brushes. Back in 2020 I found “Blue Squid” brushes, and I love them! They’re designed for face-painting, and the different styles give me lots of options for watercolors.

So now, I’m ready to visit Creative Bug for a bit of colorful “daily practice” with my watercolors. And then, before I put my paints away, I’ll practice making more thick and thin lines. It’s such a good exercise. So easy. So fun. So helpful in improving watercolor techniques.

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