Trying Out Something New With Cass Art

Seeing as though I am still waiting for this baby to make an appearance, I thought I would try my hand at something new. I would say I am a creative person, but my creativity definitely leans more towards writing than drawing and painting. When Cass Art reached out to me and asked if I’d be interested in trying out some of their watercolour paints, I was pretty excited to get stuck in to something new.

Complete Novice

I am a complete novice when it comes to painting. I’ve never used watercolour paints before, so this really was going to be a totally new experience to me. Both my sister and brother are brilliant at drawing and painting, but somehow that gene must have skipped me – maybe Luke or Baby Number 2 will grow up to be talented little artists too? When it came to actually shopping for the products I’d be needing, I thought it would be way more daunting than it actually was.

Cass Art’s Watercolour Collection

It turns out that Cass Art provide a huge variety of products, which means I was easily able to find something that suited the budget and also my ‘skill’ level. The watercolour category includes paint sets, brushes, watercolour paper, pens, pencils, accessories and everything else that you could possibly need to complete your watercolour masterpiece.

My Supplies

Paint wise, I went for the Winsor & Newton Cotman Water Colour Sketchers’ Pocket Box which includes 12 pans of paint. This seemed like a logical place to begin – the box contains a great collection of colours, the brand is well known and of a high quality and the box even comes with a paint brush included. Perfect for beginners like me! Next I had a look through all the varieties of paper available and chose ‘The Langon Watercolour Pad’ which contains 12 sheets of gummed paper, making them easy to remove from the pad. I filled my basket up with a collection of different sized brushes and finally, added a watercolour pencil set for good measure.

The Cass Art Delivery

A few days later I received my package in the post and I was really excited when I saw the return address read Cass Art! The art supplies had all been really well packaged, especially the paintbrushes which came with plastic over the brush to protect the hairs, as well as being nicely cushioned in a pouch of bubble wrap.

My First Ever Attempt At Watercolour Painting

In true blogger style, the first thing I did was take to YouTube and watch a few videos. Well, I watched two – one was all about different watercolour techniques and the other was a ‘paint with me’, showing a few simple first time designs for beginners.

I decided to start off with some roses. Or flowers loosely resembling roses anyway. I kept on painting and soon I’d filled an entire page of my paper pad up with watercolour roses and leaves.

Sure, they’re not brilliant and a quick search for #watercolourpainting on Instagram sure does put you in your place, but I don’t think they’re that bad for a first attempt. I did have to remind myself a few times that I have never, ever done this before and no body starts out being amazing at something.

Loads Of Fun

That being said, I found myself actually having loads of fun and really enjoying the chance to get creative in a way that’s completely different from what I’m used to. Luke was my creative partner in crime and together we enjoyed picking out colours for the roses and experimenting with mixing the watercolour paints to create deeper hues. I’m glad that I watched the first tutorial on watercolour techniques, as painting with watercolours really does take a bit of getting used to. The colours come out so beautifully on the paper and I love the way they bleed together, but this did catch me by surprise once or twice. Luckily, watercolour painting seems to be very forgiving and with a few dabs from a bit of kitchen roll, it was as if nothing had ever happened.

Will I Carry On?

You know what, I think I will. I actually really enjoyed myself and there’s always something quite exciting about researching techniques and then trying them out for yourself. I know that my little page of paintings is rubbish and probably makes all watercolour painters want to run for the hills, but you know what? Those little flowers can only get better! With more practice and possibly less of a baby bump preventing me from being able to reach the paper, watercolour painting is a hobby that I could seriously come to enjoy.

*This post is in collaboration with Cass Art. All thoughts and experiences are my own.