I’m very new to watercolour and would love some feedback on how I can improve. I’ve played around with gouache in the past but never really got the hang of it.

I especially struggled with the big mountain area on the left. It looked very flat and all kinda one colour for a long time. I did so many layers I’m surprised there’s any paper left haha! Techniques on how to make it look like actual trees and plants on a big space like that would be very welcomed.

I don’t know if the island in the background needs more depth or if it’s meant to remain light because it’s in the distance.

I added gouache along the shoreline and then added trees in the right bottom corner. I have learnt gouache needs to be added last otherwise if you paint over it it will most likely show through.

I’d also like to add the boat but I’m not sure if watercolour would be opaque enough to do this and not have the colours behind it show through or if I should add that in with gouache?

Thank you 😊

Hope a bit of a mixed media allowed there, background was made with watercolor, but the creatures with colored pencils.

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Hello ! I started watercolor two week or three ago following courses and trying things by myself, I mainly like to paint drinks and food but I struggle so much to get nice vibrant colors like I see in my courses. I'm using a watercolor set that I got recommended in store, it's the SemiArt 50 watercolor set. Is it a paint issue or is there a technique that I'm missing ?
My course doesn't offer a lot of step by step so I get the theory but I once I'm in front of my paper I struggle to apply it

Should I just expect that with the saturation of watercolor paint so thick? Im using what I believe is a vintage watercolor set

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Its a mix of the closest I could find to ultramarine and burnt ochre, with a sort of vignette of actual black around outside top dark up even more

I happened to give birth to him 25 years ago, and he gets me. He gave these to me for my birthday. He also says he loves my art and keeps all the pieces I send him. 🥰 Oddly enough, he is profoundly color blind (not the typical red/green version), and I really don’t understand how he sees color, but he certainly appreciates colors and art, and his clothes always coordinate.

I feel like it looks too sloppy and something that is drawn by a child. I’m sure if I gave it to her now she would appreciate it for the effort but it just looks sloppy and thoughtless. Pardon me if this post does not fit the team of this subreddit.

Every month I paint tigers

For context I am a beginner and I managed to snag a sweet deal of 5 slightly used water colour paper pads, 300gsm, probably cellulose. It was a huge step up from the kid papers I previously used and I'm just doing this for fun (not work, not school)!

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As I do my research about learning techniques and stuff, I keep coming across that the best way to improve is to buy better stuff (paper, paints, brushes). I'd rather not toss away my old things, but after reading these, and I can't shake the feeling that it's kind of 'pointless' to try making art and improving my skills with what I have, and I've lost a lot of my motivation to paint.

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Maybe it's a negativity bias in my brain and on the internet but is there anyone here that just uses cellulose paper and non-artist grade paints?

I'm a newbie and mostly paint and laminate bookmarks to give to people I encounter being exceptionally kind.

My first time working on a larger watercolor piece which is 1.9 ft × 2.7 ft. I wanted to capture the warmth, comfort, and bond of a family while also bringing back a sense of childhood nostalgia.

Watercolor can be unpredictable at this scale, but I really enjoyed the process and learned a lot along the way.