Watercolor Painting: An Underrated Medium in the Art World

I love to paint with watercolor. The vibrant colors and transparency make watercolor painting an enjoyable experience. And there’s always a surprise due to the unpredictability of the medium, producing unique artistic effects. But it seems as if watercolor is the Rodney Dangerfield of the art world, it gets no respect. Well, not enough respect. Watercolor, often getting third place behind oil and acrylic, deserves more recognition. In this post, we explore watercolor’s humble beginnings, why the art world underrates watercolor, and the beauty and versatility of this medium.

The Humble Beginnings of Watercolor Painting

Watercolor is a relatively new medium. Whereas oil painting became popular around the 15th century, watercolor arrived on the scene in the 16th century. At that time it was only used for miniature portraits, maps, and detailed paintings of nature subjects like animals, birds, and insects. It wasn’t until the eighteenth century that watercolor came into its own as a medium for landscape painting.

Watercolor’s late appearance on the art scene is primarily due to the manufacturing of paper. In an article on the history of watercolor, The New World Encyclopedia states:

‘…Since paper was considered a luxury item in these early ages, traditional Western watercolor painting was slow in evolving. The increased availability of paper by the fourteenth century finally allowed for the possibility of drawing as an artistic activity…’

Why is Watercolor Underrated in the Art World?

One of the frustrations of watercolor artists is that art galleries tend to exhibit oil and acrylic paintings, ignoring watercolor. There are a variety of reasons for this unfortunate trend.

Watercolor is Kid’s Stuff

Firstly, a lot of it has to do with how art buyers perceive watercolor painting. Many people remember the small plastic box with hardened watercolor paint and a little brush they received as a child. For them, watercolor is for kids. However, watercolor artists know that painting with watercolor is far from being kid’s stuff. Because of its spontaneity and unpredictability, mastering watercolor painting is one of the most challenging mediums to master.

Art Buyers Prefer Large Art

For galleries with collectors as customers, one assumes that the typical art collector has a large house for all his acquisitions. One also assumes that the typical art collector has large interior rooms with large walls. Watercolor paintings are of average size, typically ranging from 5×7 inches to 22×30 inches at most. The size of most watercolors are somewhere in between. A small painting gets lost hanging on a large wall.

Watercolor paper is also prone to buckling, and the paper needs stretching so this doesn’t happen. Paper stretching is a time consuming process, and many artists prefer painting on paper blocks where the paper is glued down on all four sides. The largest paper block I’ve seen is 18×24 inches. Also, watercolor brushes are small, the largest being around 2 inches wide.

Watercolor Paintings Require a Frame and a Mat

Watercolor is water soluble (hence the name watercolor) and easily damaged should something moist come into contact with the dried paint. And paper being what it is, is delicate. As such, watercolor paintings require a frame and a cover like glass or plexiglass to protect the artwork. Watercolor paintings come matted so the artwork doesn’t touch the cover. In contrast, oil and acrylic paintings don’t need a cover or even a frame. Since a cover adds weight to the frame and artwork, and runs the risk of being scratched or broken, many art gallery owners would rather not deal with them.

The Practical Benefits of Watercolor Painting for Artists

Watercolor painting outshines other mediums for being very user friendly. Because its water based, there’s no bad smell and cleanup is easy. Because water carries the paint around the paper, coverage of large areas is quick. Drying time is fast. Storing away completed paintings is easy. Dry paintings can be stacked or even put into a folder, which is a big space saver.

The Undeniable Beauty of a Watercolor Painting

Despite some disadvantages of watercolor compared to oil or acrylic, the beauty of a watercolor painting is undeniable.

Watercolor painting captures the delicate and ethereal qualities of the subject with its transparent layers and soft blending. The way the colors flow and mix on the paper creates a unique and unpredictable beauty that is difficult to achieve with other mediums. The light and airy feel of watercolor paintings adds a sense of freshness and spontaneity, bringing a sense of life and movement to the artwork.

As for the modest size of watercolor paintings, people with modest sized homes with modest sized walls appreciate modest sized artwork. Additionally, the price point of watercolor art is lower than for larger oil or acrylic paintings, making it an affordable option for buyers interested in obtaining original art for their home or business.

Conclusion

The unique quality of watercolor paintings adds beauty and vibrancy to the art world. It would be beneficial for art galleries and artists if more galleries would think about showcasing watercolor paintings. The watercolor medium has a calming and emotional quality appealing to both collectors and casual art buyers. Yes, watercolor painting is a stunning and lively medium that the art world should appreciate more.

Post cover art titled Watercolor by Kazuo Nakamura, used under Fair Use License