Tips and Techniques

Introduction

Does your mind wander when you look into a tangled woodland or up at the clouds? Do the shapes and colors you see transform into enchanted creatures in beautiful settings? Perhaps you wish to release these creatures from your imagination by painting beautiful scenes onto paper. If so, you may have wondered how to begin.

This book offers a path to your goal using watercolor, a medium that embraces the unexpected, lending itself to the ethereal nature of fairies, mermaids, and enchanted creatures. Beginning with a discussion of materials and basic techniques will prepare you to trace the subject of a demonstration exactly as is or to improvise. Following the steps for best results in watercolor will launch you to painting images that are uniquely yours.

Many artists fear a blank sheet of paper, but if you don’t face this fear when beginning something new, you’re playing it too safe! If you don’t get the results you hope for, begin again. That’s how to advance and hone your skills.

I love this quote from Edgar Degas: “I must make myself fully aware that I know nothing. It is the only way to get ahead.” And from Vincent van Gogh: “It is good to love many things, for therein lies the true strength, and whosoever loves much performs much, and can accomplish much, and what is done in love is well done.” Embrace the learning process! I trust you’ll love it as much as I do.

Chapter 1 Fairies and Their Realms

How to draw and paint fairies has as many approaches as artists who focus on them, with many effects that can be achieved using various media, ranging from delicate line drawings to saturated color and everything inbetween. We may love them all, but some approaches appeal to us more than others.

Watercolor is the medium I prefer, and it comes most naturally to me. But I can’t predict how everything I paint will turn out, and I try not to let that uncertainty keep me from forging ahead. I wonder if that’s your experience, too. Here, I’ve created projects to engage your sentiments and interest in painting them. You’ll see what some fairies look like, where they live, and what you may find them doing morning, noon, and night. Fairies have no boundaries of any kind, so if you don’t see the type of fairy who suits your mood in the following scenes, enjoy creating your own fairy that does. Get into boundless fairy mode!