An Early Beginning
Andrew Wyeth began studying art at a very young age. His father, the illustrator Newell Convers Wyeth, recognized his son’s talent and fascination for art, and took interest in teaching him. While Andrew was learning the discipline and basics of traditional drawing, he discovered his passion for watercolors and began to experiment with them. His early paintings often included rocky landscapes and the sea.

Although Andrew learned the art of painting from his father, his pieces were very different from his father’s. While N.C. Wyeth used a full array of colors, and often painted lively figures, Andrew was more reserved in his art. He chose mostly to work with warm, earthy tones, and created somber figures and landscapes. The difference between the two artists becomes quite apparent when examining one Wyeth watercolor against another. See Andrew Wyeth’s biography here.

Famous Andrew Wyeth Watercolors
A well-known Andrew Wyeth watercolor entitled “Christina’s World“, is considered by many to be a rare representation of mid-20th century America. Created in 1948, the realist-style painting was inspired by Christina Olson, a neighbor suffering from a muscular deterioration that left the entire lower half of her body paralyzed. From his window, Andrew witnessed her crawling across a field on the Olson farm and was motivated to capture and immortalize the image. However, Andrew used his wife as a model for the painting.

Other famous Andrew Wyeth watercolors include: Bradford House, Wind from the Sea, Late Fall, Easterly, and the Helga Collection. Although (and perhaps because) the Helga Collection initiated a huge amount of criticism and controversy, the watercolor paintings of Andrew’s neighbor Helga Testorf remain some of his most widely-recognizable paintings in the art world today.

The Watercolor World of Andrew Wyeth
Andrew Wyeth has been an American icon in the art world since the mid 1930′s, when he had his first watercolor exhibition and completely sold out his paintings. His fans consider his art a remarkable display of beauty, with strong emotional vibes and symbolic content. Nevertheless, many art critics judge Wyeth watercolors to be ineffective, conventional, and lacking sentiment.

Many Andrew Wyeth watercolors are typical portrayals of the vastness of the American landscape, often focusing on familiar subjects such as the neighbors and the community. Andrew’s work also reflected the harsh life experienced across the U.S. during the depression and post-war eras, which in part, attributed to his popularity and success.
Wyeth watercolors display a limited use of hues and a muted palette, bringing attention to the “dull” aspects of life. He favored fall and winter scenes, which allowed him the opportunity to use earthy colors sometimes paired with a surprise splash of red or deep green to capture the viewer’s eye.

Andrew Wyeth’s Versatility
Aside from watercolor, Andrew Wyeth was also skilled in the use of egg tempera, which was introduced to him by his brother in law. Egg tempera is a media which combines powdered pigment with water and egg yolk to make a very unique texture and color distribution. Many times, he used the two together to create a one-of-a kind painting. The combination not only significantly added to the realism of his paintings, but also rendered them distinctive from those of other artists.
Whether you love or hate the Andrew Wyeth watercolors, there is no denying the artist’s unique skill and firm grasp of realism.

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About the Author:

Dan Woods is a modern artist and is the owner of the website Andrew Wyeth Prints.

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You can buy inexpensive ones. Or you can make your own. Interested?

Colorific Glitter Watercolors

Colorific Glitter Watercolors come in a (surprise!) glittery plastic case with the same removable, rearrangeable pans and natural bristle brush that make the bigger Colorific set such a great value. I found them at Texas Art Supply for only $3.36

Colorific Metallic Watercolors

Colorific Metallic Watercolors look like the expensive, hobbyist brands with cute names that are made with mica powders. Yet they are inexpensive. Texas Art Supply sells them for $3.36.

Prang also makes metallic watercolors, and their price is almost as low.

Making Metallic or Irridescent Watercolors

You can easily mix PearlEx or other fine mica powders into whatever watercolors you have to create interference (changeable) colors, irridescence, or metallic effects. If you can only buy one, I suggest getting the plain Pearl. However, the sampler sets with several (or many) small containers of different colors are the best buy.

You need only a tiny amount of mica powder to get the effect. It works far better with transparent colors than semiopaque colors. For opaque colors, you may want to try brushing a very tiny bit of the powder over the dry paint. (I suggest using one of the applicators mentioned in my last post. You can apply it with your fingertip, but you have less control of where the powder goes.)

For a truly metallic effect, you can mix mica powder with gum arabic (liquid or dry) to make a metallic paint. Gum arabic is the main binding ingredient in watercolors. That is how the expensive irridescent hobbyist watercolors are made.

You can even use actual metal powders (nontarnishing ones, such as aluminum) to make your own paint with gum arabic. If you use metal powders, though, be very careful to be in a still (no breeze) environment, and wear a dust mask.

CAUTION: Metal powders can be very toxic and/or mechanically damaging to the lungs. Some are in the form of microscopic spirals that can lodge in the lungs and cause infection. Do not allow children or pets in the area while measuring and mixing if you use them. Once the powder is mixed into paints, it should be safe. Do not ingest any paint of any kind!

Whether working with mica or metallic powders, use only tiny amounts at a time. Be careful not to spill. Use a damp cloth to clean up any traces of the dust from work surfaces or floor.

For opaque metallic paints, you may want to try inexpensive gouache paints in gold and silver. You can tint gold with red to make copper.

Any pearly white paint can be tinted with transparent colors to create many beautiful irridescent shades.

Making Glitter Watercolors

You add fine glitter to any kind of watercolor. Or you can mix fine glitter with gum arabic to paint over ordinary watercolors.

The best glitter for the purpose is made of very fine particles. A good example is that made by Art Institute Glitter, but any very fine glitter will do.

Notice that there are two kinds of glitter: transparent and opaque. Transparent glitter is better for mixing with or painting over watercolor.

Glitter Acrylics

I have also found glittery acrylic paints, usually glitter in a clear base. You can mix glitter with acrylic paints or mix glitter into clear acrylic medium. I have used clear acrylic medium with glitter under transparent watercolor and liked the results. You can see an example toward the right-hand end of the header graphic at the top of the front page of this blog.

You can find metallic, glittery, or irridescent acrylic paints of all grades these days: from expensive to cheap. You can also use acrylic fabric paints on canvas or paper. Fabric paints tend to be less expensive but quite durable, since they were made to be laundered.

Mixing Glitter Glues and Glazes with Paint

Remember that you can also mix glitter glues and glazes with paints. You can also apply them under or over paints. If you experiment with glitter glues and glazes, I suggest using either old brushes or cheap, disposable brushes or applicators.

If you do use any of your better brushes, be very careful to wash them immediately afterward. To make it easier to wash out the glitter glue or glaze, wet the brush thoroughly with water before use. That way it does not soak up the glue so much. (That is also a good precaution when painting with acrylic paints or acrylic medium.)

By experimenting, you will find that you can create many wonderful effects. Remember to mix just tiny amounts until you find the mixture you like.

Be sure to paint a little sample in your sketchbook and write down your recipe for creating that effect. You will be very glad later than you did.

That’s why, as I mentioned in Cheap, Fun Watercolors, I was surprised to find that the brush that came with Coloriffic watercolors was quite good. That set was the exception to the rule.

Serious watercolor brushes can be quite expensive—and fragile. Nowadays there are some really good synthetic brushes that are cheaper and better than some natural hair brushes. But they can be somewhat expensive, too.

Waterbrushes

One answer is to use the plastic waterbrushes made by Niji, Royal Langnickel, and others. They are popular because you can fill the barrel with water, put the brush in your purse, briefcase or backpack and be prepared to paint anywhere. They use very little water, and they never leak!

Waterbrushes by Niji (top) and Royal Langnickel with caps on.

Waterbrushes make it possible to paint anytime. At about $6 to $10 for a Niji brush, they are cheap compared to good-quality traditional brushes. They are also really nice to paint with, easier to control and easier to clean. Niji even makes a flat brush that is about 5/8 inch wide for washes.

I generally use waterbrushes at home so that I don’t need a big container of water beside me to rinse brushes in. I don’t have to keep replacing the rinse water, and I don’t have to worry about accidentally spilling it. (If you have children or pets, that can be a big concern.)

I had heard bad things about cheaper waterbrushes, but I got a set of three Royal Langnickel waterbrushes on sale for about $8 and I love them! To me the quality is quite good. I especially love the largest and smallest Langnickel brushes.

My only complaint is that the caps are not as tight as the caps of the Niji waterbrushes. I have lost one Langnickle brush cap. Without the cap, I can still use the brush at my desk (and I do), but I can’t carry it in my purse anymore. I have never had a Niji waterbrush cap come off in my purse, and I have carried one constantly for two or three years.

Bargains on Natural Hair Brushes

Another option is to watch for sales or bargains on good quality natural-hair brushes. I’ve found sable brushes for $5 to $7 at beauty supply stores.

Look in the manicure section of any beauty supply store. I’ve even found them for as little as $2 on the clearance table.

What Kind of Brushes Do YOU Use?

What kind of brushes do you use with fun watercolors? Do you carry them with you constantly to use in your sketchbook?

Do you use waterbrushes? What brand? How do you like them?

Generally, if watercolors look pretty in the package, they are useless for real painting. In contrast, artist-quality watercolors tend to look very dark. Some colors appear to be almost black until you add water.

However, cheap watercolors are a lot of fun to play with, and there are exceptions to the rule, so try them out. Cheap watercolors come in three forms: hard cakes (not covered here), semimoist, and tube paint.

Semimoist Watercolors
Semisoft watercolors are like the Prang watercolors I grew up with. You can still buy the good old Prang sets, but now there are also cheaper sets with bright, fun new colors. I bought a set at BigLots for $1.99 that fits in my purse. The case is about 3 inches by 4 1/2 inches.

At King Dollar I got a set of Colorific paints with removable pans and a very nice natural bristle brush in a sturdy portable case for just a dollar. At 10 inches long, this is not pocket size, but it fits fine in a tote bag, briefcase or backpack.

Colorific is a wonderful brand at its regular prices, and its products are sold in many drug and discount stores. This would have been a great buy at the regular price (probably $4.99 or $5.99). The brush alone may have been worth the original price.

Having removable pans means that you can rearrange the colors to suit your own way of working. As you use up colors, you can either refill each pan from a tube of watercolor or take out the pan, wash out the old color, and refill it with a totally different color.

Cheap Watercolor Paints in Tubes

Not all watercolors that come in tubes are expensive. Niji, maker of the famous waterbrushes; Loew Cornell, another brushmaker; Koi, Yarka, and others also offer sets of tube watercolors for under $10.

The tube paints tend to have the traditional color names of artist-quality watercolors. The colors are rich and smooth, and they flow well. (I don’t know if they fade in bright light.)

You can use tube paints to refill portable watercolor cases, too. Just squeeze some into a paint compartment or pan, and let it dry with the case open. It will rewet just fine later with water from a brush.