The watercolor medium has a rather unfair reputation. It has been said that watercolor is difficult to master. So, many artists distance themselves from picking up the practice altogether.
Regardless, it is the most portable, accessible and efficient to use of all the painting processes I can think of. All you need is clear water to clean your brushes.
From my experience the very things that make watercolor difficult to undertake are the very qualities that no other medium provides.
For example, the blending of colors if, well-placed can create lovely runs or can add weight to your subject matter. This is best done through the wet-into-wet technique. Mastering when to use soft and hard edges can suggest painting mist and other atmospheric affects, etc.
This week while studying a Winslow Homer watercolor at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, MA, I learned how he could establish three different values with one wash of Prussian blue paint: a wash for the sky, with blotting he would remove paint near the horizon leaving only the stained color & paint pure pigment for the shadows on the water with varying amounts of pressure from his brush work.
Watercolor is a medium I constantly learn from each and every day...
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