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THE NO. 1 MISTAKE YOU'RE MAKING WITH WATERCOLOR
Many beginners use black watercolor to create shadows, but this often leads to muddy, lifeless sketches. In this post, I explain why black isn’t the best choice and show you how to mix beautiful, natural shadow colors instead.

Julia Henze
3 min read


WINSOR & NEWTON COLORS FOR 2024 COMPETITION
Winsor & Newton watercolor competition 2024. Beautiful colors, swatches, mixes, exercices, tutorials and techniques videos for beginners.

Julia Henze
5 min read


5 WATERCOLOR MISTAKES ALL BEGINNERS MAKE AND HOW TO AVOID THEM
Avoid these common beginner mistakes with watercolors: tweak your sketching habits to ensure amazing results.

Julia Henze
4 min read


GRANULATING WATERCOLOR PAINTS: WHAT THEY ARE AND HOW TO USE THEM IN YOUR PAINTINGS
Discover the basics of watercolor granulation. Learn how to use granulating watercolors in your sketches and paintings.

Julia Henze
3 min read


WATERCOLOR PANS VS. TUBES: WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE AND WHICH IS BETTER?
Pros and cons of using watercolor paints in pans and in tubes. Useful tips and personal experience.

Julia Henze
4 min read


GOUACHE AND WATERCOLOR PAINT LABELS: 7 IMPORTANT CHARACTERISTICS
How to read watercolor and gouache paint labels: series number, permanence rating, lightfastness, pigment number, opacity rating.

Julia Henze
5 min read


HOT AND COLD PRESS WATERCOLOR PAPER: IS THERE REALLY MUCH DIFFERENCE?
All you need to know about watercolor paper: textures, materials used, manufacturing methods, formats and sizes. Beginner-firendly guide.

Julia Henze
6 min read


MAGICAL POWER OF TURQUOISE: HOW TO INTEGRATE BOLD COLORS INTO YOUR SKETCHES
Practical tips for using turquoise in urban sketching: pre-made paints, markers, pencils; mixing your own colors. Inspiration and examples.

Julia Henze
4 min read


WATERCOLOR TIPS FOR BEGINNERS: TIMING EXPERIMENTS
Get to know your watercolors to create better urban sketches! Watercolor experiments for beginning artists. Simple tricks.

Julia Henze
3 min read


MY FAVORITE URBAN SKETCHING SUPPLIES: WATERCOLOR KIT
Essential supplies for urban sketching: watercolors, professional brushes, watercolor paper, pocket-sized palettes, fineliners and pencils.

Julia Henze
3 min read


HOW TO MIX GREENS WITH WATERCOLOR
This article explains how to mix greens with watercolors, when and how to use pre-made greens, and how to use greenery in urban sketching.

Julia Henze
4 min read
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