I am a beginner at watercolor and before taking this class I was really struggling with basics like how to control water, brush strokes and color mixing. Through the class activities I think I've really gotten a good idea of how my paints work and I am so happy with the results I've gotten. Thank you Ana Victoria for making watercolor so fun and approachable! I loved this class!

Here's my first attempts at transparencies and gradients. I was actually too lazy to do them the way taught here (by slowly adding paint to clear water) and instead used a technique I've seen before of starting with really concentrated paint and gradually watering it down. I wasn't as happy with the results. The gradients on the top page were okay, but I think I was making them too short to transition smoothly between tones. So I tried them again after some more practice and was happier with that second page.

Completed Class Project - image 1 - student project

Here's another attempt at transparencies, using the method Ana Victoria teaches in class. The results are much better, with much clearer distinction between tones.

Completed Class Project - image 2 - student project

Below are some pulse and precision exercises. I did these many times, as I found them fun but challenging. I still am struggling with getting my lines fine and straight enough and I really had a hard time with the circles. Perhaps a better brush would help? I don't know. I'll keep working on this.

Completed Class Project - image 3 - student project

Next are my monochrome activities. I did it twice, just doing a simple flower like Ana Victoria.

Completed Class Project - image 4 - student project

Completed Class Project - image 5 - student project

I had fun with the experiments lesson. I used a combination of my tube paints, india inks (white, black, gold and teal), two different kinds of salt, and bleach. I am just ordered some liquid watercolors so I am looking forward to trying this activity again once they arrive just to play around. Also, I only had splashless bleach and I don't feel like it worked as well as regular bleach might.

Completed Class Project - image 6 - student project

I did the jellyfish activity twice also. Here's my first attempt. I was not happy with the colors. I realized that my jellyfish lacked depth because I didn't make the insides darker than the caps. I also didn't like the tentacles-my lines were too short and thick and too squiggly. I didn't even bother adding any details.

Completed Class Project - image 7 - student project

Here's my second try. I got a bigger sheet of paper and paid closer attention to the colors. This one is much better!

Completed Class Project - image 8 - student project

Lastly is my galaxy! (with a few detail shots because I just can't help myself :) I have to be honest, I wasn't looking forward to this final project. I have seen galaxy paintings before and didn't really understand the appeal. Plus, I thought they seemed way to hard to get right. But I was wrong--it was so fun to paint! Very zen as I just kept adding layers of paint. When I was done, I was worried my colors were too dark and that it just looked like blobs, but once I added white details with india ink it really came together. I also added a few details with gold. It was hard to stop looking at it, it's so mezmerizing!

Completed Class Project - image 9 - student project

Completed Class Project - image 10 - student project

Completed Class Project - image 11 - student project

Anyway, if you made it all the way down here, kudos to you! Thanks for looking at my projects. I loved this class and can't wait to paint more galaxies. I will definitely be taking any class Ana Victoria offers in the future.

Elana Núñez-Tiso

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