Men who have been gifted with brushstrokes have laid the platforms for various profound works of art. To this day, the works live in the hearts of those who have appreciated it in galleries, those who have loved it in the museums and those who have paid a coveted amount to make it a part of their homes. Painting has seen many revolutions and many pioneers.



Prior and post Renaissance, movements like Surrealism, Cubism, Impressionism, Expressionism, Romanticism and so on have guided the painters across the world. There have been men of might like Picassso, Renoir, Braques, Cezanne, Dali, Vinci, Gogh and others who have brought us to the shore of artistic brilliance. Paintings can be done in many mediums. Oil paintings have always caught the imagination. Another medium which has drawn plaudits all across is the watercolor paintings.

Watercolor paintings are done with water colors as pigments dissoluble in water soluble vehicles. Water color paintings are mostly practiced on paper. Though there are other materials as well; canvas, papyrus, vellum, fabric, wood. Orientals have long been drawn to the seduction of water color painting. Dimensions have changed. Monochrome or solid color may have been the point of difference.

Water color painting in its primitive form can be traced back to the times of cave painting but the paintings as we know them today had sprouted during the times of Renaissance.

Watercolor paintings got wings in America in the middle tract of 19th century. Watercolors became so well-received that it gave birth to wove papers with deep and heavy settings. With time, consumerism came to the picture to complete the marriage between art and commerce. This resulted in sale of water colors in metal tubes or as dried cakes. Earlier, the color combinations were sparse. Mostly, they were fundamental colors in single shade. Advancement in chemistry brought a new splurge of colors. Now we have the cobalt blue, cadmium yellow, zinc white and so on.

Watercolors have also been ruined and castrated during its journey. Once, the European practice of using starkly colored, petroleum aniline dyes caused the watercolors to lose itself on being exposed to sunlight. This led to a complete ruining of watercolor paintings.

Expressionism used abstraction and tried to depict it through oil paintings. Expressionism came to the fore and almost at the same time, the novices belittled the art form of water-color paintings. This led to a general fall in acceptance of the painting medium.

Many beginners are successfully molded into the domain of watercolor paintings today. It is generally believed that the canvas while drawing watercolor paintings should be huge as water dissoluble paints look to spread through diffusion.

For watercolor paintings, the brushes used must be top-of the line. While we deal with acrylic and oil, there is still a chance that a false brushstroke would not ruin the game. With watercolor paintings, even such a thing is a huge risk. Water color as a medium has always sought emancipation from time.