Workshops & Art

Watercolor for Beginners: 5 Mistakes and How to Fix Them

New to watercolor? These five beginner mistakes cause most muddy, patchy paintings. Each one has a simple fix you can try on your next page.

Watercolour has a reputation for being difficult. It is really just honest: it shows exactly how much water you used. Fix these five things and most of the frustration goes away.

1. Using thin paper

Printer paper buckles and pills. Use proper watercolour paper, ideally 300 gsm. This single change makes a bigger difference than better paint.

2. Too little water, or too much

Dry, scratchy strokes mean you need more water. Puddles that will not dry mean you need less. Aim for a brush that is loaded but not dripping. Test on a scrap first, every time.

3. Going back into wet paint

The urge to "fix" a damp area creates blooms and mud. Put the stroke down and leave it. If you want to add something, wait until the paper is completely dry.

4. Using every colour

Mud comes from mixing too many pigments. Pick three colours for a painting. A limited palette looks deliberate.

5. Painting dark first

Watercolour works light to dark. You cannot paint white back in, so save your lightest areas by leaving the paper bare, then build up.

A first exercise

Paint five squares. In each, drop a second colour into the first while it is still wet and watch what happens. Label each one. You have just learned wet-on-wet, and you have a reference card.

Keep going

Paint small. Postcard size is enough. Take a travel palette to a café and paint your cup, then stick it in your coffee journal. If you would prefer to learn with the paper already taped down and someone to ask, we set up small watercolour sessions at the studio.