I just got back from a two week family trip to Europe. Zach and I traveled with my parents to Spain, France, and Italy.
Not only was it beautiful just to see and experience those places, but it was even more incredible to paint them!
I want to share some of what I brought along for the trip to capture those moments in this week's Tuesday Tip, Tutorial, and Tool blog post.
*if you're new here, every Tuesday I share a tip, tutorial, and a tool with my email list. I encourage artists of any age or ability to find joy in the experience of watercolor. Join us here!
The Tip
I mentioned this on an instagram reel I posted during the trip, but I'm going to dig further in here.
"If you can match the color, you can skip the detail". If your eye sight isn't perfect (I'm with you, I wear contacts and the world is a blurry mess without them!) then you probably know when things aren't in focus, color is a HUGE help.
When I'm painting on the go, I am not worried about getting everything just right. Instead, my goal is to match color, composition, and the overall idea of the scene.
The next time you are drawing and painting from a reference photo or real life, don't fret over each individual line. Think about matching the colors, then try for general shapes, and finally add a few details to finish it off.
Our brains are really good at filling in the details even if they aren't there! I'll talk more about that another time.
The Tutorial
Most of the time, I send you a tutorial that shows you how to paint a specific image or scene. This week, I've got something special for you. This tutorial is about how to use one of my favorite tools.
The water brush! Or brush pen? It has a few names but it's what I used the whole time I was traveling.
I've returned even more excited about these brushes than I was before. (and I already used them all the time before my trip!)
These are the perfect tool if you want painting to become more convenient. If you're interested in painting wherever and whenever, a water brush will be your new best friend!
I even dissect one so you can see what it's made of... 👀 Check out the full video here then get ready to paint EVERYWHERE.
The Tool
Going along with the theme of my tutorial, my tool this week is the water brush! I try out three different brands in my video and I'll give you the links here.
A variety pack of waterbrushes -amazon link
Small water brushes and sketchbooks 4-pack -amazon link
Funto Art Travel kit including water brush -Website link (use code ALYSSA10OFF for 10% off)
These brushes are seriously a game changer. Go watch my youtube video all about them and let me know if you have any questions.
Happy Painting!
-Alyssa
