lockdown – Indrani aggarwal

Having run out of oil painting sheets (see Learning to paint using oils), I thought to give watercolors a try. I already had necessary supplies at home, and bought some average quality watercolor paper from a local stationary shop.

Watercolor as a medium is very different to oils, in terms of blending characteristics and drying time. I was excited to experiment with watercolor and thought it would be much easier to handle. But it was a failure to being with, I found it hard to use the right amount of water and was always slow to apply colors while blending. The color dries super fast so the next few steps have to be planned in advance, and it’s not like oils where you can get a coffee in between applying two brush strokes.

While at home during the lockdown I decided to finally try my hands on oil painting, with my mother as my mentor. I started with painting straight on a biggish canvas as that’s what I have seen my mother paint on since my childhood. Painting on canvas is fun, and will produce something which will last for years and can be easily put on a wall etc, but it’s time consuming and may not be the best to experiment. So, I decided to get small sized sheets on which I can practice and try out a new idea every couple of days. I wanted to get size A5 sheets and accidentally ordered A6, but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise because I just loved A6 sized paper (which I think is similar to a postcard).

Tag: lockdown

Learning to paint using watercolor

Learning to paint using oils