Technique of watercolor painting is intended for a wide variety of painters from absolute beginners to more advanced painters. Although the texts are specifically for watercolorists many of the matters discussed are of interest also to both painters in oil and other mediums.

This series of articles is about Technique.

Technique is the way a task is performed. It includes dexterity of hand and brain to successfully work tools and materials to reach the objective desired in the finished work. Brain is controlled by Mind the creative aspect of intelligence.

An Artist is a painter who has developed a high level of technique. An Artist therefore is a good painter by definition. A good painter is one who has good technique. A painter who has a poor technique is a painter but not an Artist. An Artist is one whose work is Art. Art is not a differentiation between trades such as between plumbing and masonry. An Artist is a Master painter and a master of technique.

Which would you rather trust - an airline pilot who has poor control and understanding of the way a plane flies or one who has studied and been shown by trained trusted and experienced pilots who know how to do the job properly.

Many painters dismiss technique believing striving for this undermines their creativity. Creativity cannot be undermined. Creativity is more powerful than any lack of it. The search for higher levels of technique is an essential process needed before contact with full artistic expression can be attained.

Watercolor painting is a delightful medium to work. It helps the individual to open the eyes and see the subtlety and power of the natural and our so-called manmade world. It is suitable for all ages and classes of persons. At its best its ablest proponents can stand comparison next to the greats in any other medium. This does not mean the best painters in oils are the best in watercolors and vice versa. The skill required for watercolor painting stands on its own and can panic the most able of oil painters.

When a watercolor painter applies a wash to the ground [paper the water energizes the pigment into having a life of its own. To an extent when the pigment moves it also often seems in addition to have a will of its own. An oil painter dabs some pigment on a canvas ground and the pigment just stays there dumb as if it has no intelligence. The oil painter has to impart energy into the work for success while the watercolorist to some degree allows energy to emerge from some mysterious place within the painting.

Watercolors are suitable for most subjects. They are also suitable for most persons at any age. Yet the medium does have its own set of unique restrictions.

For example to be able to control a wash the painter normally has to be within arms length of it to maintain this control. The oil painter can step back twenty feet to judge its effect and this will not make the slightest difference to the position of the paint. This is not so with watercolor for two reasons. One the painting must be vertical to judge it from a distance and by the time this is viewed from almost any distance most of the painting will be on the floor.

The other drawback is the maximum size of the ground. Painters in oils seem to have no practical limitation as far as area of canvass is concerned. Graffiti is testament to this. I know of no watercolorist graffiti culture. Rolls of watercolor paper can be bought but I think only for suppliers to cut their own sizes for retailing or reselling painters blocks.

One subject loved by watercolorists is the landscape. There are many aspects to this. The four elements of antiquity are Earth Air Water and Fire. There is nothing about oil here therefore oil is evidently in some other sub-category. The actual natural landscape contains three of these elements and can be proved to be so every day of the week by simply looking out of the window. The watercolorist uses water and without it watercolor painting would not exist. This gives the watercolor painter a unique bond with the natural landscape and the water it contains in land sea and air in all its forms such as ice water vapor and steam.

Watercolorists are also preeminent in the painting of natural history subjects. This is because the medium is more easily capable of precise work. Early watercolorists perhaps concentrated on flowers and foliage. This suited a drier use of the pigments and made the medium suitable also for those who were not so creative but were patient and content to paint as an extension to their interest in freehand drawing.

Many painters from these beginnings became creative painters. They included middle and upper class women well educated in writing singing and needlecraft. It was their social class who were largely involved in the expanding sciences. Graphic images were needed to spread scientific ideas to the wider public for its support. This entailed printing from engraved plates copied from drawings and paintings to satisfy the wider demand for illustrated books of all kinds both before and after the invention of photography.

Only the very best watercolorists are able to paint portraits. This is a nightmare area for most watercolorists. There seems to be two types of watercolorist portrait painter. One who paints very dry and produces precise images whose subjects are easily recognizable.

The other is the free impressionistic portrait that looks as if it has been completed in a couple of minutes. Often these are bleary looking subjects apparently in the advanced stages of decomposition. A painter is either a natural for portrait painting or best to leave it alone. I leave it alone!

Architectural painting is also a natural subject for watercolorists. The subjects lend themselves to spontaneous technique if the painter understands the significance of architectural details. Also the long slow painstaking rendering of measured work is very satisfying. Architectural perspectives are well know for their dramatic effect and use for promoting designs in competitions.

Modern impressionistic painting is a natural watercolor outlet for the watercolorist. In spite of what many think this type of painting is very structured. Like a sentence a painting is an idea but conveyed in paint. An idea that has no structure is not an idea. Most impressionistic paintings are simply moods a sense of being. A sense of being is simply the brain wafting around using energy to no purpose. A mood is without consciousness.

Art is the expression of heightened consciousness.

Some painters think or feel all they need to do is to relax in an artistic pose and the result will be a work of Art. This may in rare cases be so but in the majority what will be expressed will be only a distortion caused by illusion. It is in fact self-delusion expressing an illusion.

In a gallery show a viewer may ask you if you have anything in purple because of some wallpaper problem they have in one of the bedrooms at home. This poses a problem because the temptation is to go off in a hurry and paint one. Sympathize with but ignore.

Then again when you have completed a painting you think is the best you have ever done a stranger perhaps might tell you he sees a white stallion in your painting rearing up into the clouds and wants to know what your precise thoughts of this horse actually were at the time. The truth is you have no idea what he is talking about. It is surprising how simple it is to construct some sort of metaphysics to explain this horse.

On one occasion I was sitting in my studio gazing idly at the wall when from a very acute angle one of my paintings of trees in a wood came into sharp focus. What I saw instead of trees occupying most of the area within the mount was a magnificent beautiful nude sixteen-year-old girl with pure pink-white skin sitting laid back in the arms of a most revolting looking equally nude but hairy leering devil. So be careful.

Pictures seem to be a record of all our thoughts at their time of painting. Perhaps these images are not what we believe to be hidden away deep in the unconscious part of us but they may well lurk there. Let us always be careful what we think because what we think as well as what we have thought in the past is part of what our paintings and we ourselves are today.

Technique takes time to develop. The search for a true technique will lead us along many blind alleys and a lot of watercolor has to flow under the bridge before we even get near to where we think we wish to be.

This is why the emphasis here is on Technique and part of this technique is drawing - the basis of all painting. Painting is drawing with paint.

Next Subject: Technique of Watercolor Painting WC02 WATER

John Blenkin is a retired architect and is now a watercolor painter and article writer. His interests are wide covering both technical and philosophical subjects. He also writes online articles on the technique of watercolor painting. http://www.freefolios.com/ foka@spidernet.com.cy

More articles at free articles database

Technique of watercolor painting is intended for a wide variety of painters from absolute beginners to more advanced painters. Although the texts are specifically for watercolorists many of the matters discussed are of interest also to both painters in oil and other mediums.

This series of articles is about Technique.

Technique is the way a task is performed. It includes dexterity of hand and brain to successfully work tools and materials to reach the objective desired in the finished work. Brain is controlled by Mind the creative aspect of intelligence.

An Artist is a painter who has developed a high level of technique. An Artist therefore is a good painter by definition. A good painter is one who has good technique. A painter who has a poor technique is a painter but not an Artist. An Artist is one whose work is Art. Art is not a differentiation between trades such as between plumbing and masonry. An Artist is a Master painter and a master of technique.

Which would you rather trust - an airline pilot who has poor control and understanding of the way a plane flies or one who has studied and been shown by trained trusted and experienced pilots who know how to do the job properly.

Many painters dismiss technique believing striving for this undermines their creativity. Creativity cannot be undermined. Creativity is more powerful than any lack of it. The search for higher levels of technique is an essential process needed before contact with full artistic expression can be attained.

Watercolor painting is a delightful medium to work. It helps the individual to open the eyes and see the subtlety and power of the natural and our so-called manmade world. It is suitable for all ages and classes of persons. At its best its ablest proponents can stand comparison next to the greats in any other medium. This does not mean the best painters in oils are the best in watercolors and vice versa. The skill required for watercolor painting stands on its own and can panic the most able of oil painters.

When a watercolor painter applies a wash to the ground [paper the water energizes the pigment into having a life of its own. To an extent when the pigment moves it also often seems in addition to have a will of its own. An oil painter dabs some pigment on a canvas ground and the pigment just stays there dumb as if it has no intelligence. The oil painter has to impart energy into the work for success while the watercolorist to some degree allows energy to emerge from some mysterious place within the painting.

Watercolors are suitable for most subjects. They are also suitable for most persons at any age. Yet the medium does have its own set of unique restrictions.

For example to be able to control a wash the painter normally has to be within arms length of it to maintain this control. The oil painter can step back twenty feet to judge its effect and this will not make the slightest difference to the position of the paint. This is not so with watercolor for two reasons. One the painting must be vertical to judge it from a distance and by the time this is viewed from almost any distance most of the painting will be on the floor.

The other drawback is the maximum size of the ground. Painters in oils seem to have no practical limitation as far as area of canvass is concerned. Graffiti is testament to this. I know of no watercolorist graffiti culture. Rolls of watercolor paper can be bought but I think only for suppliers to cut their own sizes for retailing or reselling painters blocks.

One subject loved by watercolorists is the landscape. There are many aspects to this. The four elements of antiquity are Earth Air Water and Fire. There is nothing about oil here therefore oil is evidently in some other sub-category. The actual natural landscape contains three of these elements and can be proved to be so every day of the week by simply looking out of the window. The watercolorist uses water and without it watercolor painting would not exist. This gives the watercolor painter a unique bond with the natural landscape and the water it contains in land sea and air in all its forms such as ice water vapor and steam.

Watercolorists are also preeminent in the painting of natural history subjects. This is because the medium is more easily capable of precise work. Early watercolorists perhaps concentrated on flowers and foliage. This suited a drier use of the pigments and made the medium suitable also for those who were not so creative but were patient and content to paint as an extension to their interest in freehand drawing.

Many painters from these beginnings became creative painters. They included middle and upper class women well educated in writing singing and needlecraft. It was their social class who were largely involved in the expanding sciences. Graphic images were needed to spread scientific ideas to the wider public for its support. This entailed printing from engraved plates copied from drawings and paintings to satisfy the wider demand for illustrated books of all kinds both before and after the invention of photography.

Only the very best watercolorists are able to paint portraits. This is a nightmare area for most watercolorists. There seems to be two types of watercolorist portrait painter. One who paints very dry and produces precise images whose subjects are easily recognizable.

The other is the free impressionistic portrait that looks as if it has been completed in a couple of minutes. Often these are bleary looking subjects apparently in the advanced stages of decomposition. A painter is either a natural for portrait painting or best to leave it alone. I leave it alone!

Architectural painting is also a natural subject for watercolorists. The subjects lend themselves to spontaneous technique if the painter understands the significance of architectural details. Also the long slow painstaking rendering of measured work is very satisfying. Architectural perspectives are well know for their dramatic effect and use for promoting designs in competitions.

Modern impressionistic painting is a natural watercolor outlet for the watercolorist. In spite of what many think this type of painting is very structured. Like a sentence a painting is an idea but conveyed in paint. An idea that has no structure is not an idea. Most impressionistic paintings are simply moods a sense of being. A sense of being is simply the brain wafting around using energy to no purpose. A mood is without consciousness.

Art is the expression of heightened consciousness.

Some painters think or feel all they need to do is to relax in an artistic pose and the result will be a work of Art. This may in rare cases be so but in the majority what will be expressed will be only a distortion caused by illusion. It is in fact self-delusion expressing an illusion.

In a gallery show a viewer may ask you if you have anything in purple because of some wallpaper problem they have in one of the bedrooms at home. This poses a problem because the temptation is to go off in a hurry and paint one. Sympathize with but ignore.

Then again when you have completed a painting you think is the best you have ever done a stranger perhaps might tell you he sees a white stallion in your painting rearing up into the clouds and wants to know what your precise thoughts of this horse actually were at the time. The truth is you have no idea what he is talking about. It is surprising how simple it is to construct some sort of metaphysics to explain this horse.

On one occasion I was sitting in my studio gazing idly at the wall when from a very acute angle one of my paintings of trees in a wood came into sharp focus. What I saw instead of trees occupying most of the area within the mount was a magnificent beautiful nude sixteen-year-old girl with pure pink-white skin sitting laid back in the arms of a most revolting looking equally nude but hairy leering devil. So be careful.

Pictures seem to be a record of all our thoughts at their time of painting. Perhaps these images are not what we believe to be hidden away deep in the unconscious part of us but they may well lurk there. Let us always be careful what we think because what we think as well as what we have thought in the past is part of what our paintings and we ourselves are today.

Technique takes time to develop. The search for a true technique will lead us along many blind alleys and a lot of watercolor has to flow under the bridge before we even get near to where we think we wish to be.

This is why the emphasis here is on Technique and part of this technique is drawing - the basis of all painting. Painting is drawing with paint.

Next Subject: Technique of Watercolor Painting WC02 WATER

John Blenkin is a retired architect and is now a watercolor painter and article writer. His interests are wide covering both technical and philosophical subjects. He also writes online articles on the technique of watercolor painting. http://www.freefolios.com/ foka@spidernet.com.cy

More articles at articles host

Cross-stitch is a wonderful, rewarding hobby that can be enjoyed by people of all ages and abilities. Avoid these common beginners’ mistakes and soon you will be creating stunning pieces of cross-stitch work to treasure.

1. Choosing the wrong pattern

With the extensive range of charts on offer it is often tempting to start with something too complicated. For your first cross stitch project choose a chart with a relatively small design area and no more than 3 or 4 worked colours. You will have the satisfaction of completing it relatively quickly and can soon progress to something more challenging.

2. Tangling your threads

Theres nothing more stressful than tangled threads so always keep them organised. When starting a project, punch a line of holes in a piece of card and loosely tie each coloured skein through a separate hole. Label each hole with the appropriate thread reference number and chart symbol.

3. Not finishing your edges

Some even weave fabrics and linens fray easily. Before you start stitching, prepare your fabric properly by loosely back stitching around the edges with cotton.

4. Loosing your place on the chart

For a large piece of work it is sometimes hard to keep your place on the chart. Before you start work, divide your chart into a grid of workable areas and mark with a coloured pencil. Stitch a corresponding grid onto your fabric using brightly coloured cotton. Sew loosely so that the cotton can be removed easily on completion of the project.

5. Stitching too tightly

Keep your stitches evenly tensioned or your fabric will buckle or stretch out of shape. Many cross-stitchers find that a hoop helps to keep the fabric taut as they work.

6. Not starting in the middle

The centre of a chart is clearly marked. You should always start stitching from this point and work outwards to the edges of your design otherwise your fabric will pull out of shape.

7. Leaving the needle in your work

Always remove the needle when you finish sewing to avoid rust marks staining your fabric.

8. Getting your work dirty

Grubby work looks unattractive. Wash your hands before you stitch and store ongoing work in a sealed bag or container. Finished pieces can be washed by hand with a gentle detergent. Dry by rolling in a towel - never wring fabric.

9. Starting with a knot

Knots should never be used to start off a new thread. Instead, leave a 10mm length of thread at the back of your work. Hold it against the fabric as you work your next stitches and it will eventually be kept in place by the new stitches. Trim off any excess thread.

10. Straining your eyes

It is very important to avoid eye strain by working in a well lit room. During daylight hours, work by a window where possible. Consider buying a halogen lamp for stitching in the evenings. If your eyesight is really poor, you might need to invest in a magnifier to place in front of your work.

More articles at article database

Cross-stitch is a wonderful, rewarding hobby that can be enjoyed by people of all ages and abilities. Avoid these common beginners’ mistakes and soon you will be creating stunning pieces of cross-stitch work to treasure.

1. Choosing the wrong pattern

With the extensive range of charts on offer it is often tempting to start with something too complicated. For your first cross stitch project choose a chart with a relatively small design area and no more than 3 or 4 worked colours. You will have the satisfaction of completing it relatively quickly and can soon progress to something more challenging.

2. Tangling your threads

Theres nothing more stressful than tangled threads so always keep them organised. When starting a project, punch a line of holes in a piece of card and loosely tie each coloured skein through a separate hole. Label each hole with the appropriate thread reference number and chart symbol.

3. Not finishing your edges

Some even weave fabrics and linens fray easily. Before you start stitching, prepare your fabric properly by loosely back stitching around the edges with cotton.

4. Loosing your place on the chart

For a large piece of work it is sometimes hard to keep your place on the chart. Before you start work, divide your chart into a grid of workable areas and mark with a coloured pencil. Stitch a corresponding grid onto your fabric using brightly coloured cotton. Sew loosely so that the cotton can be removed easily on completion of the project.

5. Stitching too tightly

Keep your stitches evenly tensioned or your fabric will buckle or stretch out of shape. Many cross-stitchers find that a hoop helps to keep the fabric taut as they work.

6. Not starting in the middle

The centre of a chart is clearly marked. You should always start stitching from this point and work outwards to the edges of your design otherwise your fabric will pull out of shape.

7. Leaving the needle in your work

Always remove the needle when you finish sewing to avoid rust marks staining your fabric.

8. Getting your work dirty

Grubby work looks unattractive. Wash your hands before you stitch and store ongoing work in a sealed bag or container. Finished pieces can be washed by hand with a gentle detergent. Dry by rolling in a towel - never wring fabric.

9. Starting with a knot

Knots should never be used to start off a new thread. Instead, leave a 10mm length of thread at the back of your work. Hold it against the fabric as you work your next stitches and it will eventually be kept in place by the new stitches. Trim off any excess thread.

10. Straining your eyes

It is very important to avoid eye strain by working in a well lit room. During daylight hours, work by a window where possible. Consider buying a halogen lamp for stitching in the evenings. If your eyesight is really poor, you might need to invest in a magnifier to place in front of your work.

More articles at article database

So, youre sitting on the bus home from work, or maybe the ferry, or the train, just fascinated with the young woman across from you working on her knitting. The color purple, needles flying away, it looks so complicated, but so beautiful! Youre intrigued, and youre thinking….I wish I knew how to do that!

Well, you can learn knitting if you wish. Let me be your fairy godmother! I can grant your knitting wish, without so much as waving a magic wand! But, if you insist, just imagine that silvery scepter and a bit of abracadabra twirling over your head, infusing you with all kinds of knitting secrets!

The 5 Easy Steps To Becoming A Knitter are as follows:

1) You need to get motivated! Think back to the first time you learned to ride a bicycle. Maybe you used training wheels for a while, or your mom or dad just hung on the side until you were ready to go it alone. But, there came a time when you knew…this is it! And away you went, solo, for the first time! You were scared, sure, but you were also absolutely determined to see it through without landing on the ground! You were motivated!

That same feeling is present in everything we do. The degree of intensity is the only difference. If you really want to learn to knit, or do anything else for that matter, something inside will be nagging at you to find out more.

Pick up a knitting magazine and find the simplest pattern there, or go online to a few of the better pattern sites. Choose a simple scarf, block afghan, purse, or vest to start with.

2) Put time aside. You do for everything else, dont you? You always have that extra hour for American Idol or CSI, so you need to put time aside for knitting, too. Of course, once it becomes second nature to you, knitting goes just great with TV or picnics, or train rides, or whatever. If you can find time to shop at the mall three times this week, and you really want to learn knitting, you will find the time!

3) Are you willing to learn new skills? Now thats a silly question, because we all learn new skills all the time, only we dont pay it much attention. If you work for a living or take classes, or mind babies, or run your own company, then you have your own special set of skills. The best part here is that you can fill up on as many new skills as you like and never have to worry about calories! Unlike school, there is no homework either!

4) Are you willing to make mistakes? If youre not, dont try knitting! Dont try anything new, as a matter of fact! If you think about it, everything you have ever done in your life you made mistakes at. Learning to walk, talk, use a cellphone, drive a car, take a test, speak a foreign language, drive out-of-state, be a parent, or be a child, mistakes are all around us! Thats how we learn. So, take a chance on you! You will be pleasantly surprised!

5) Pick up a simple knitting guide to help you learn best! I cant think of one better than my own, of course, Ready Or Knit…Here I Come! which can be found at my website, [www.TheKnitStitch.com. This guide will walk you through all you need to know about learning to knit, complete with patterns, information on yarns, accessories, and lots of helpful tips to get you going!

So, remember, if you really, really, really, want to learn knitting, follow these 5 simple steps and the next time you are on your way home on that bus, ferry or train, it will be your purple (or red or yellow) yarn, and your needles flying, and I can just bet you this: there will be someone watching saying, I wish I knew how to do that!

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Keep YOUR knitting on the Cutting Edge with FREE patterns. The place where smart knitters gather resources and share stories. FREE Details ==>http://www.theknitstitch.com

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**Attn Ezine Editors/Site Owners** Feel free to reprint this article in its entirety in your ezine or on your site so long as you leave all links in place, do not modify the content and include our resource box as listed above.

Alice Seidel, is the owner of TheKnitStitch.com. A former innkeeper, Alice has taken her passion for knitting to new heights, with an instructional ebook, patterns, and informative knitting.

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A Mix CD is a simple, fun, and long lasting kid’s birthday party favor idea. A CD mix of your child’s favorite songs from the past 12 months easily trumps the dollar-store quality toys, balloons, stickers and regular party favor material which is forgotten about or broken shortly after it is received. A mix CD is long lasting, enjoyable, interactive, and a perfect document of your child’s previous year, through music. When compiled yearly it becomes a chronicle of your child’s interest in music (both the kid and adult variety) and as far as memories go a collection of mix CDs, one for each year of his or her life, will become as treasured as any crayola masterpiece or notches on a growth chart.

Mix CDs can be put together with relative ease assuming you have access to a PC w/ CD-RW drive, the internet/iTunes, and a printer.

Here is what you will need and how much it will cost (for a party of 25 kids):

1) Music, of course! See below for some suggestions. Assuming you do not own any of the music for this CD (which would be odd, since presumably your child has already been enjoying his or her favorite songs) expect to pay .99 cents each on iTunes (but you only have to buy each song once!)

2) CD-Rs.

3) Jewel Cases. We would recommend the slim cases for this project. You could be even more creative by making paper sleeves and stamp and/or stencil the album details on the cover.

4) Labels. Most packs include easy to use software for designing and printing your own labels for the CD, Jewel Case front, back, and spine.

Costs

1) The Music - 12 songs (a decent length for a mix CD): $12

2) CD-Rs: $15 (for a 50 pack - so you will have enough for next year’s party!)

3) Slim Jewel Cases: $18 (for a pack of 25)

4) Labels and Software: $15 (for 40 complete sets of CD labels)

Total: $60. Or a little more than $2 each for a party of 25 kids.

Here are some suggestions for adult music that can be downloaded from iTunes (or most other digital download services) and shared with your kids of any age, organized as Louder and Softer selections. Don’t worry, the loud is not ear shattering and the soft will not put you to sleep.

Louder: Bright Eyes True Blue from Motion Sickness - Live Recordings (a studio version of True Blue is available on their Lua EP. Motion Sickness, a more recent release, was only made available through independent record stores. Both versions are quite good, but our daughter prefers the more raucous live version)

Josh Ritter Snow is Gone from Hello Starling (a terrific song about the magical period between end of Winter and the dawn of Springtime)

Wilco/Billy Bragg Hoodoo Voodoo from Mermaid Avenue (a Woody Guthrie song written for his kids. A ton of fun to listen to as Woody uses several hilarious made-up words and phrases in his lyrics. Wilco and Bragg’s performance is a blast)

Dr. Dog The World May Never Know from Easy Beat (our daughter’s favorite song at one point. it has a beat so infectious that it is almost impossible not to start dancing, or a the very least swaying back and forth, with the first note)

The Band Ain’t Got No Home from Moondog Matinee (The Band covered Clarence Frogman Henry’s classic 1956 song and made it their own. Your kids will love Levon Helm singing like a Frog on one of the early verses. Check out Clarence Henry’s original version as well)

The Beach Boys Surfin’ USA (a summertime classic. what kid or parent can resist singing along with this super-catchy tune. if your child is like mine he or she will soon be turning the knees-bent and arms-out surfing motion into their own new dance, creating an instant classic moment. have your video-camera charged and ready!)

Softer:

M. Ward Here Comes the Sun Again from Transistor Radio (a lovely homage to that big ball of heat in the sky from this terrific old-soul singer/songwriter)

Red House Painters Wop-A-Din-Din from Old Ramon (a touching song about a cat. if you and your family have a cat in the house, this song will became a favorite and if you don’t you may want to rush out and get one!)

Archer Prewitt I’ll Be Waiting from White Sky (lyrically could easily be a love song from parent to child. Archer has one of the finest singing voices of the past decade)

The Gilroys Martin Candy from their self-titled CD (kid’s should love the instrumentation and parents with a love of older comedy films should get the funny movie reference in the refrain’s lyrics and song title. full disclosure: my old record label released this song. )

Nick Drake Northern Sky from Bryter Layter (simply one of the prettiest love songs ever written)

Be sure to include a nice blend of the adult songs that your child enjoys as well as their favorite kids tunes. This suggested playlist has been compiled as an iMix on iTunes, titled OWTK Volume 1, for quick and easy downloading.

Enjoy the music and your child’s birthday party!

Copyright 2006 www.outwiththekids.com

Out With The Kids is a web blog dedicated to providing unique tips, trips, events, and ideas to families striving to raise healthy, happy, and interesting kids. Visit us at http://www.outwiththekids.com.

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Technique of watercolor painting is intended for a wide variety of painters from absolute beginners to more advanced painters. Although the texts are specifically for watercolorists many of the matters discussed are of interest also to both painters in oil and other mediums.

This series of articles is about Technique.

Technique is the way a task is performed. It includes dexterity of hand and brain to successfully work tools and materials to reach the objective desired in the finished work. Brain is controlled by Mind the creative aspect of intelligence.

An Artist is a painter who has developed a high level of technique. An Artist therefore is a good painter by definition. A good painter is one who has good technique. A painter who has a poor technique is a painter but not an Artist. An Artist is one whose work is Art. Art is not a differentiation between trades such as between plumbing and masonry. An Artist is a Master painter and a master of technique.

Which would you rather trust - an airline pilot who has poor control and understanding of the way a plane flies or one who has studied and been shown by trained trusted and experienced pilots who know how to do the job properly.

Many painters dismiss technique believing striving for this undermines their creativity. Creativity cannot be undermined. Creativity is more powerful than any lack of it. The search for higher levels of technique is an essential process needed before contact with full artistic expression can be attained.

Watercolor painting is a delightful medium to work. It helps the individual to open the eyes and see the subtlety and power of the natural and our so-called manmade world. It is suitable for all ages and classes of persons. At its best its ablest proponents can stand comparison next to the greats in any other medium. This does not mean the best painters in oils are the best in watercolors and vice versa. The skill required for watercolor painting stands on its own and can panic the most able of oil painters.

When a watercolor painter applies a wash to the ground [paper the water energizes the pigment into having a life of its own. To an extent when the pigment moves it also often seems in addition to have a will of its own. An oil painter dabs some pigment on a canvas ground and the pigment just stays there dumb as if it has no intelligence. The oil painter has to impart energy into the work for success while the watercolorist to some degree allows energy to emerge from some mysterious place within the painting.

Watercolors are suitable for most subjects. They are also suitable for most persons at any age. Yet the medium does have its own set of unique restrictions.

For example to be able to control a wash the painter normally has to be within arms length of it to maintain this control. The oil painter can step back twenty feet to judge its effect and this will not make the slightest difference to the position of the paint. This is not so with watercolor for two reasons. One the painting must be vertical to judge it from a distance and by the time this is viewed from almost any distance most of the painting will be on the floor.

The other drawback is the maximum size of the ground. Painters in oils seem to have no practical limitation as far as area of canvass is concerned. Graffiti is testament to this. I know of no watercolorist graffiti culture. Rolls of watercolor paper can be bought but I think only for suppliers to cut their own sizes for retailing or reselling painters blocks.

One subject loved by watercolorists is the landscape. There are many aspects to this. The four elements of antiquity are Earth Air Water and Fire. There is nothing about oil here therefore oil is evidently in some other sub-category. The actual natural landscape contains three of these elements and can be proved to be so every day of the week by simply looking out of the window. The watercolorist uses water and without it watercolor painting would not exist. This gives the watercolor painter a unique bond with the natural landscape and the water it contains in land sea and air in all its forms such as ice water vapor and steam.

Watercolorists are also preeminent in the painting of natural history subjects. This is because the medium is more easily capable of precise work. Early watercolorists perhaps concentrated on flowers and foliage. This suited a drier use of the pigments and made the medium suitable also for those who were not so creative but were patient and content to paint as an extension to their interest in freehand drawing.

Many painters from these beginnings became creative painters. They included middle and upper class women well educated in writing singing and needlecraft. It was their social class who were largely involved in the expanding sciences. Graphic images were needed to spread scientific ideas to the wider public for its support. This entailed printing from engraved plates copied from drawings and paintings to satisfy the wider demand for illustrated books of all kinds both before and after the invention of photography.

Only the very best watercolorists are able to paint portraits. This is a nightmare area for most watercolorists. There seems to be two types of watercolorist portrait painter. One who paints very dry and produces precise images whose subjects are easily recognizable.

The other is the free impressionistic portrait that looks as if it has been completed in a couple of minutes. Often these are bleary looking subjects apparently in the advanced stages of decomposition. A painter is either a natural for portrait painting or best to leave it alone. I leave it alone!

Architectural painting is also a natural subject for watercolorists. The subjects lend themselves to spontaneous technique if the painter understands the significance of architectural details. Also the long slow painstaking rendering of measured work is very satisfying. Architectural perspectives are well know for their dramatic effect and use for promoting designs in competitions.

Modern impressionistic painting is a natural watercolor outlet for the watercolorist. In spite of what many think this type of painting is very structured. Like a sentence a painting is an idea but conveyed in paint. An idea that has no structure is not an idea. Most impressionistic paintings are simply moods a sense of being. A sense of being is simply the brain wafting around using energy to no purpose. A mood is without consciousness.

Art is the expression of heightened consciousness.

Some painters think or feel all they need to do is to relax in an artistic pose and the result will be a work of Art. This may in rare cases be so but in the majority what will be expressed will be only a distortion caused by illusion. It is in fact self-delusion expressing an illusion.

In a gallery show a viewer may ask you if you have anything in purple because of some wallpaper problem they have in one of the bedrooms at home. This poses a problem because the temptation is to go off in a hurry and paint one. Sympathize with but ignore.

Then again when you have completed a painting you think is the best you have ever done a stranger perhaps might tell you he sees a white stallion in your painting rearing up into the clouds and wants to know what your precise thoughts of this horse actually were at the time. The truth is you have no idea what he is talking about. It is surprising how simple it is to construct some sort of metaphysics to explain this horse.

On one occasion I was sitting in my studio gazing idly at the wall when from a very acute angle one of my paintings of trees in a wood came into sharp focus. What I saw instead of trees occupying most of the area within the mount was a magnificent beautiful nude sixteen-year-old girl with pure pink-white skin sitting laid back in the arms of a most revolting looking equally nude but hairy leering devil. So be careful.

Pictures seem to be a record of all our thoughts at their time of painting. Perhaps these images are not what we believe to be hidden away deep in the unconscious part of us but they may well lurk there. Let us always be careful what we think because what we think as well as what we have thought in the past is part of what our paintings and we ourselves are today.

Technique takes time to develop. The search for a true technique will lead us along many blind alleys and a lot of watercolor has to flow under the bridge before we even get near to where we think we wish to be.

This is why the emphasis here is on Technique and part of this technique is drawing - the basis of all painting. Painting is drawing with paint.

Next Subject: Technique of Watercolor Painting WC02 WATER

John Blenkin is a retired architect and is now a watercolor painter and article writer. His interests are wide covering both technical and philosophical subjects. He also writes online articles on the technique of watercolor painting. http://www.freefolios.com/ foka@spidernet.com.cy

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You can create more scrapbooks in less time of you take a few moments to organize your thoughts and supplies. Before starting your newest scrapbooking project, plan out everything you will need and have it close at hand.

This includes supplies such as tape, glue, and pens, photos and memorabilia you intend to use, and an idea of how you want your pages to flow from one to the next.

Effectively organizing your scrapbooking projects includes keeping a written record of what worked for you in the past and what did not.

Notes of materials and fabrics that worked and those that were difficult to maneuver, the types of paper and decorations that were the easiest to attach, and which particular supplies were the most effective will save you a lot of time when starting a new scrapbooking project.

Basic supplies such as scissors, paper, and page protectors should be kept in a special box or container so they will be within easy reach when you are ready to begin your next project.

Keeping your family photos and mementos in a central location will make it much easier to locate the ones you wish to include in your newest scrapbook. Your calendars and journals should be kept up to date. This will save you many hours if you don’t have to take time to remember dates and places.

Make a special effort to keep your information current. Digital photos can be placed into directories according to the special event, the person, and the places in which the photos were taken.

Advance planning and making an effort to keep your scrapbooking items in a central location are the best ways to keep yourself organized and make scrapbooking a joy rather than a stressful experience.

Vera Raposo has been scrapbooking since her oldest child was 5. With tons of scrapbooking tips and ideas, Vera is now sharing some of her best scrapbooking ideas for your new baby in her newsletter http://www.baby-scrapbooking.com

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You can create more scrapbooks in less time of you take a few moments to organize your thoughts and supplies. Before starting your newest scrapbooking project, plan out everything you will need and have it close at hand.

This includes supplies such as tape, glue, and pens, photos and memorabilia you intend to use, and an idea of how you want your pages to flow from one to the next.

Effectively organizing your scrapbooking projects includes keeping a written record of what worked for you in the past and what did not.

Notes of materials and fabrics that worked and those that were difficult to maneuver, the types of paper and decorations that were the easiest to attach, and which particular supplies were the most effective will save you a lot of time when starting a new scrapbooking project.

Basic supplies such as scissors, paper, and page protectors should be kept in a special box or container so they will be within easy reach when you are ready to begin your next project.

Keeping your family photos and mementos in a central location will make it much easier to locate the ones you wish to include in your newest scrapbook. Your calendars and journals should be kept up to date. This will save you many hours if you don’t have to take time to remember dates and places.

Make a special effort to keep your information current. Digital photos can be placed into directories according to the special event, the person, and the places in which the photos were taken.

Advance planning and making an effort to keep your scrapbooking items in a central location are the best ways to keep yourself organized and make scrapbooking a joy rather than a stressful experience.

Vera Raposo has been scrapbooking since her oldest child was 5. With tons of scrapbooking tips and ideas, Vera is now sharing some of her best scrapbooking ideas for your new baby in her newsletter http://www.baby-scrapbooking.com

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There is a difference between heavily scented candles, richly scented candles and triple scented candles. Many people believe that all three mean that the candle has a strong scent that will last until the candle burns out completely. For the most part, heavily scented candles means that a larger than normal amount of fragrance has been added to the wax in the candle making process. In general, one-half ounce is the normal amount of essential oil added to the melted wax. In heavily scented candles, this amount is tripled so that one and a half ounces are added.

If you buy heavily scented candles that are not wrapped, there is a very good chance that the scent will be gone from the candle long before the candle is burned out. This is because the scent from a heavily scented candle does evaporate into the air when it is exposed. Another way of finding out whether or not a candle is heavily scented is to see whether or not you can smell the candle when you are standing a distance away from it. Most people that buy a heavy scented candle do not intend to burn it and want it mainly for its decorative effect.

You have many different options when buying heavily scented candles. There is a wide variety of colors and scents for you to choose from. If you are making your own heavy scented candles, then you can decide how much of the fragrance you want to include. This sometimes requires some experimenting on your part and you can combine several different fragrances to achieve something completely unique. A heavily scented candle can also be custom made according to your specifications regarding the particular scent and color.

All kinds of candles are included in heavily scented candles. You can have tapered, pillar, votive and tealight candles with as heavy a scent as you wish. One thing you need to keep in mind when making or buying heavy scented candles is that some people are allergic to specific scents. If you have guests coming over and you know that one or more of them is allergic to scents, then you should remove the heavily scented candle until after they leave. You also have to keep this in mind when choosing to give a heavily scented candle as a gift.

Heavily scented candles help to really cover up smells of cooking or smoke. You dont have to worry that guests will be able to tell exactly what you had for dinner or that you accidentally burned something in the kitchen when you have a heavy scented candle around. For even greater effect, you can light the heavily scented candles and let all different scents mix together to create a unique atmosphere. If you have candles with a variety of scents, it might be a good idea to try this first, just to see what the result will be. It may not be the best effect in the world.

To find out more about Candles visit Peter’s Website Your Hot Candles and find out about Scented Candles and more, including Custom Candles, Floating Candles and Soy Candles

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