In a previous post, I referred to how I gained a new interest in watercolor painting from watching YouTube videos, and today I want to share some fantastic painters I found in recent days. As I was watching some of the artists listed on this post in action, I couldn't help wondering how more important showing work in progress will become for artists past this pandemic crisis. In this DIY world we live in, would the final product be enough to judge an artist's work?

I owe it to myself to pay closer attention to female artists on YouTube, so I assure you these are artists whose style and approach to being creative relate to mine, so them being guys is only a coincidence.

Fermin Lopez, Gary Tucker, and Tim Wilmot

How they explain with simple techniques on how to make color relate to light or create atmosphere and texture reflects countless hours of experimentation along with their creative thinking. Their casual approach to watercolor painting, how they build shapes, and color temperature with overlaid washes resonate with how I'd love to work in my paintings.

Stuart Davies

He creates the idea of detail with economic painting tools, which is incredible! What stands out to me about his teaching method is the way he makes me think that observation is not only a matter of looking but also a response to memory and feeling.

Cesar Cordova and Ben Lustenhouwer

In the case of Cesar Cordova and Ben Lustenhouwer, I like how hey don't seem to conform to one way of doing things. It's interesting to me how their work retains a level of consistent style even though they are frequently changing how they work on their paintings to demonstrate different techniques. When you know what you do, it doesn't matter how you do it.

One thing all these artists share in common is how they present their skills without an egocentric character or useless rhetoric. We live in a time with democratized knowledge, so for anyone with access to an internet connection, there’s no excuse not to learn a craft. So, those in the position of teaching need to re-consider their strategy.