Discover the secret lives of birds, flowers and wildlife in our collection of original watercolor art. This collection brings together a curated group of contemporary watercolor artists. These artists blend the tradition of watercolor painting with their own modern style, including humor, storytelling and realistic nature scenes.
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History of Watercolor Paintings
Artists in the Stone Age crushed natural pigments into tree sap, water and even saliva to create fluid paints. These large landscape watercolor paintings are preserved in caves around the world. In Ancient Egypt, clerks recorded history in the making with watercolors on papyrus. Watercolors were also important to achieve the fluid brushstrokes in traditional Chinese paintings.
Watercolor paintings have been around since the Paleolithic Era but truly made their debut during the Renaissance.Up until that point, watercolor was seen as a naive medium and was not taken seriously in British and European art circles. Baroque artists used washes of watercolor to sketch underpaintings before committing fully to fresco or oil paints. Then, artists like Albrecht Dürer saw the potential in watercolor for painting his realistic birds and rabbits. Throughout the centuries, watercolors have been the preferred medium by many innovative artists such as John Singer Sargent, John James Audubon and Winslow Homer.
Watercolor Paints
The first collectors of watercolor paintings paid a premium because the pigments had to be ground by hand. This was a strenuous process for the artist until art specialty shops started selling pre-ground pigments. In 1780, William Reeves made watercolors even more versatile with cakes - now paints were portable and could easily be re-moistened by dipping in water and then rubbing on a porcelain dish. In 1830, shopkeeps began selling wet watercolors in pans, again to alleviate the process for artists. Finally, in 1846, Winsor & Newton brought us the familiar professional-grade watercolors in metal tubes. As watercolor became accessible to the mainstream, more artists emerged, such as John James Audubon who produced a series of American bird paintings.
Artist Studio
The artists at UGallery blend the tradition of watercolor techniques with their own contemporary style. Read what watercolor artists Judy Mudd and Jill Poyerd have to say about their preferred medium:
“Watercolor is different from other mediums in that it inserts itself into the process. When first learning watercolor, you try to control it just as you would other mediums. But over time you realize you, along with gravity, are participants with watercolor and allowing it to move, run and merge are what makes watercolor so beautiful.” - Watercolorist Judy Mudd
“My process takes a fairly long time. When working in watercolors, my preparation process is extensive. And then, as I paint, each layer needs to dry completely. That can take a full day or overnight… and there are many layers.Painting in oils takes time as well, although it involves less preparation and fewer layers(the way I paint).” -Watercolorist Jill Poyerd
Your personalized collection
All of these artworks were hand-selected by our curators to provide you exclusive access to the world of emerging art and artists. You can click the Heart icon to add each artwork to your Wishlist to save for later.
Orientation
Color
Style
Subject
5430 Artworks
FeaturedBest sellingAlphabetically, A-ZAlphabetically, Z-APrice, low to highPrice, high to lowDate, old to newNewest Arrivals
Curator Pick
Jeff Fleming
Renaissance Spring
30", oil paintingx 40"
$1,875
New
Robert Hofherr
Mansion in the Country
24", acrylic paintingx 30"
$1,675
New
Robert Hofherr
Ode to St. Paul
24", acrylic paintingx 24"
$1,700
New
Steven Guy Bilodeau
Crashing Waves
9.5", oil paintingx 13.5"
$450
New
Darlene McElroy
Elusive Love
24", mixed media artworkx 6"
$725
New
Janet Dyer
Winter Garden
18", acrylic paintingx 14"
$625
Curator Pick
Hope Rambo
Life Inside
24", acrylic paintingx 18"
$1,500
New
Janet Dyer
Marsh on a Sunny Day
18", acrylic paintingx 24"
$975
New
Pat Doherty
Mint Chocolate Cupcake
6", oil paintingx 6"
$225
Curator Pick
Shuxing Fan
Snow Road
24", oil paintingx 30"
$1,775
Curator Pick
Stanislav Sidorov
Fall Alley. Golden Reflection.
30", oil paintingx 20"
$1,600
New
Linda Shaffer
Resilient Heart
20", mixed media artworkx 20"
$750
New
Janet Dyer
Spring, Suburbs
12", acrylic paintingx 24"
$700
New
Lisa Elley
Colorful Coast
10", oil paintingx 8"
$300
New
Janet Dyer
Miscanthus in Snow
18", acrylic paintingx 24"
$975
New
Nava Lundy
Love Language
40", acrylic paintingx 60"
$5,775
New
Jesse Aldana
Murder@Sunset
24", oil paintingx 18"
$1,050
Curator Pick
Dariusz Choinski
Everything Has It’s Time
20", oil paintingx 20"
$2,000
New
Jeff Fleming
Breath of Spring
18", oil paintingx 24"
$700
New
Pat Doherty
Dipped in Chocolate
6", oil paintingx 6"
$225
New
Shyun Song
Compassion
24", oil paintingx 20"
$1,850
New
Janet Dyer
Dark Trees
12", acrylic paintingx 24"
$700
Curator Pick
Valerie Berkely
Golden Veil
30", oil paintingx 30"
$1,200
New
Jose H. Alvarenga
The Lady
7", oil paintingx 5"
$425
Curator Pick
Maximilian Damico
Prague River and Castle at Dusk
11", watercolor paintingx 16"
$550
New
Janet Dyer
Shady Path
20", acrylic paintingx 20"
$975
New
George Peebles
Care Free Day
16", oil paintingx 20"
$500
New
Shari Lyon
Raggiungendoti
18", encaustic artworkx 36"
$2,700
New
Laura (Yi Zhen) Chen
Autumn Day
24", acrylic paintingx 18"
$950
New
Valerie Berkely
Winter Melt
18", oil paintingx 24"
$475
New
Shyun Song
Passion
24", oil paintingx 20"
$1,850
New
Shyun Song
Roots
12", oil paintingx 10"
$575
New
Jeff Fleming
Good Morning Garden
16", oil paintingx 20"
$600
Curator Pick
Warren Keating
Eldorado Walk Triptych
24", oil paintingx 54"
$6,375
New
Nava Lundy
Yang
48", mixed media artworkx 30"
$3,500
New
Robert Hofherr
Residence
24", acrylic paintingx 24"
$1,400
New
Lisa Carney
Coral Haze
30", acrylic paintingx 36"
$1,700
New
Dowa Hattem
Hidden Flower
23.6", acrylic paintingx 31.4"
$1,475
New
Nava Lundy
At Last
24", mixed media artworkx 36"
$2,000
New
Dowa Hattem
Crowd of Nature
23.6", mixed media artworkx 31.4"
$1,475
New
Pat Doherty
Raspberry Swirl
7", oil paintingx 5"
$225
New
John Jaster
Lost but Not Forgotten
24", acrylic paintingx 36"
$1,300
Curator Pick
Keith Thomson
The Dream
20", mixed media artworkx 20"
$1,650
New
Valerie Berkely
Fade
10", oil paintingx 8"
$275
New
Onelio Marrero
Soft Wind in the Pines
8", oil paintingx 10"
$525
New
Jaime Ellsworth
Amble
36", oil paintingx 48"
$4,800
New
Alix Palo
Yellow Floral Bouquet
36", acrylic paintingx 36"
$900
New
Janet Dyer
Daycamp
10", acrylic paintingx 20"
$525
New
Pat Doherty
Strawberry Swirl with Sprinkles
7", oil paintingx 5"
$225
New
Alix Palo
Colorado Poppies
24", acrylic paintingx 24"
$550
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