I have been asked to create a series of 8 paintings for children. They will be 3x4 feet and I want them to be very colorful. I also want to use watercolors. Does anyone have any suggestions for the paint. I will need large tubes.
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Very nice project, I use Winsor Newton water colors and they come in many different sizes, and you can buy them in most all art supply retailers. Have fun with that. Ron
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Wow, @altheris13 what a fun project, and such a great size for kids’ art! Have you worked with watercolors before? The shift in size can be a bit of a learning curve alone. I’d recommend starting with the watercolor brands and supplies you’re already comfortable with, especially since the scale of the project will already be a big challenge.
Watercolors can be similar in some ways, but they also perform quite differently depending on the brand- things like flow, granulation, and how they react on wet surfaces can vary a lot. For larger tubes, you might look into Winsor & Newton Professional, Daniel Smith, or Holbein. I’ve also used Da Vinci watercolors—while they’re considered student grade, I found their performance to be excellent. They don’t spread too aggressively, making them great for someone starting out, and the lightfastness on most colors is solid. And probably the most affordable depending on your location (They are made in the USA). All of these brands offer vibrant colors in larger tubes. If you haven’t used watercolors before I would suggest getting smaller tubes in a few different brands and play with them to see what you like before investing in large tubes that you will feel obligated to use. I can’t wait to see how your colorful series turns out!
Jessica, thank you for your response. I have worked in watercolor more than any other paint. I wondering though about maybe using both watercolor and acrylic with an acrylic medium. Have you done that?
Hi, @altheris13
You can however typically the watercolors need to be applied first before the acrylics depending on the look you are going for or the reason you are using it; like are you just blocking in color with the watercolors and finishing in acrylics? I have only done it on Bristol board. I didn’t use any mediums with it either.
You can apply the acrylics into the wet watercolor giving the acrylics a semi-transparent look. It almost reminds me of using acrylic gouache.
If you apply watercolor over dried acrylics, it gives it a ghostly look. If you apply watercolor into wet acrylics, it gives a ghostly fuzzy look.
I have used a pallet knife to apply a textured mint green acrylic base and went over it after it was dry with a cooper watercolor to give it a patina-style finish. I was doing the Statue of Liberty for a client, and it came out beautifully. On that piece or any other mixed media pieces I use a spray varnish after everything was dry to seal everything up.
Just beware of the surface you are using you are going to want something supportive to prevent bending and the acrylics from cracking.
Just a thought since you have worked mostly in watercolors so far. Maybe just stay with doing all the pieces in watercolors. If not and you want to explore; watercolors and colored pencils are also beautiful together without the worry of support or a frame, watercolor and pastel pencils could be another option but should be framed in order to protect the pastels.
If I were you, I would do a few small versions of one of your bigger designs using different techniques and products to see what you like also considering that each product whether it be watercolors, acrylics, etc have their own learning curve. 8 3x4 paintings is a big project I want you to love the process and have a plan before you even start in order to avoid frustration. Say for instance you find mid-way working with watercolor and acrylics isn’t your thing you will be forced to push through it, and it isn’t going to be enjoyable. Each artwork we create takes a little piece of us with it; it shows in our work and others will be able to sense that.
Jess