Welcome!

In this course, you will learn how to create watercolor paintings on vintage sheet music, books, newspapers, or any kind of old paper. Follow the step-by-step process, from choosing paper to developing your idea to the very end of your painting. What a great way to repurpose and honor old pages which might otherwise be forgotten in a closet or discarded!

What You Will Learn

Every old page has it's own character. Each page will behave differently. These lessons will provide a guide that you can use to create your own unique painting on vintage paper. The lessons may contain affiliate links. When you use the link to purchase an item, I will receive a small commission. Thank you!

Here's What you Get:

• Materials: Everything you need to get started, as well as links to help you purchase.
• How to Get Started: Suggestions for finding paper, ideas for inspiration
• Plan Your Painting: Steps to follow as you plan your painting and create the drawing
• Practice and Techniques: Suggestions for practicing and developing your skills; Techniques that work!
• Formula: Each step in the process to guide you as you create your own painting
• A Challenge for You: At the end of each lesson, you will find an action plan/challenge to help you move forward.

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How to Use These Lessons

This course is broken down into bite-sized lessons. Work at your own pace. Take your time.

• Start at the Beginning: If you would like a step-by-step guide, start at the very beginning, with lesson 1, and work at your own pace through each lesson. Take the "challenge" at the end of each lesson as you apply what you learned to your own paintings.
• Choose What You Need: Feel free to skip around, going "buffet-style," choosing what you would like to learn.

Above all, be patient. Allow yourself to learn. Enjoy the process of learning and creating something uniquely your own! I hope you find these lessons helpful, enjoyable, and applicable to your own paintings!

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Stay in Touch!

1. Introduce yourself in the comments below and tell us why you are here and what you are looking forward to learning.
2. We would love to hear how it's going and invite you to share your experiences, works in progress, challenges, solutions, and suggestions. Here's where to share:

• Use the comments section at the bottom of each lesson page.
• Share to our Private FB page, Realistic Animals in Watercolor and/or our Community. Members will love to hear from you!
• Email Rebecca at [email protected]
• Share to your Facebook page, Instagram, Twitter - all of your favorite places with the hashtag #rebeccarhodesart.

By sharing, you are inspiring others to get started!

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Materials Used in These Lessons

The materials you will use are the same as in a normal watercolor painting. The only difference is that you will be painting on vintage pages instead of watercolor paper. Feel free to use your favorite materials! Below, you will find what is used in these lessons. I am an affiliate of both Blick art Materials and Rosemary & Co. and receive a small commission when you click any of these links. Thank you!

• Watercolor Paints: We use Winsor & Newton Professional Watercolor Paints in these lessons. The small, 5 ml tubes last a long time.
• Watercolor Brushes: I use a small and medium sized pointed round brush. Use this link to the Materials List to learn more about brushes. Feel free to use your favorite brushes!
• Palette: This hinged plastic palette contains 18 wells and is available in larger sizes. You could also use a plate or any surface that repels water.
• Tracing Paper: I use Canson Artist Series Tracing Paper Pads to create my initial drawing.
• Sturdy Container for Water - I use a large plastic container so the water does not have to be changed often.
• Paper Towels - for cleaning brushes, blotting, and cleaning up

Optional Materials

Optional Waterproof Black or Sepia Ink Pen - In this course I use...

• Faber-Castell PITT Artist Pen 199S – Black
• Sakura Pigma Micron 01 Sepia (here is Micron 01 Black)

Links to watercolor ground and gesso:

• Daniel Smith Watercolor Ground, Titanium White
• Daniel Smith Watercolor Ground, Transparent
• Daniel Smith Watercolor Ground, Additional Colors
• Liquitex Gesso, this page will take you to a choice of colors and sizes

If the paper wrinkles, I use small pieces of two-sided Scotch Transfer Tape, 1/2" x 36 yards attached to an archival backing board to keep the paper in place. Use sparingly.

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THIS LINK will take you to the materials used in our Watercolor school. Feel free to use your favorite materials.

THIS LINK will take you to a huge list of where you can purchase materials.

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For cleaning and wiping brushes, you could use a variety of items.

• Some artists wipe their brushes on a roll of paper towels
• Others use folded paper towels
• Presently, I use a kitchen towel – sometimes called a tea towel. Folded to a convenient size, it absorbs water from the brush, and dries quickly. Use whatever is convenient for you.
• I lay the brushes on the towel so the tips hang over and won’t bend into weird shapes when drying.
• I use a tube from an old pen to pick up clean water and wake up color that has dried on the palette. You could add water with a brush, and I’ve seen artists use a squirt bottle – whatever works best for you, as long as the water is clean.

My set up looks like this.

Plastic container for water, brushes on the folded hand towel, paper towels nearby for blotting and cleaning up. I’m right handed, so these items are on the right, and my computer screen to view the reference photo is on the left.

I hope this information is helpful to you as you choose materials that work best for your needs.

Do you have a question? Comment below, or contact me, Rebecca Rhodes, at [email protected]. I'm happy to help!