Watercolors

I am doing a watercolor course right now. Here are some of my observations.

• Think colors : Knowledge of forms & volumes will make it difficult in the beginning to perceive in pure colors.
• Think 'Water' colors : Water is a major aspect of this medium. Should be used in abundance. The whole idea is to have a watery look.
• Simple blends to details : First put-in simple blends. For the techie type, this means, first pain in lower frequencies of an image (in terms of Fourier Transforms) and then go to higher frequencies.
  
• Controlled Chaos : Water colors are chaotic, but the end-result is also important. The chaotic brushwork should finally produce a well synthesized image.
• Give & Take : Its an error prone medium. The talent is to correct the errors or live around errors
• Shade in single color : Use a single color and create a gradation using more/less water.
• Shade in single strokes : When painting thinner elements like pipes/rods, a single brush stoke should show a gradation along the width of the pipe. The brush should have un-even paint on different sides
• Complex to simple : Any form of art is an effort to simplify/clarify/beautify/ a complex real picture. The artist makes a picture from reality 'easy to chew/digest' for a viewer and this gives the pleasure to the viewer. One way of doing this is to start with simple picture and add complexity to a required extent. Another way (possible with watercolors) is to start with complexity and simplify to required extent.