If you’ve ever wondered if painting is an indulgent waste of time, let me assure you that painting is a great hobby for very many good reasons, and none of these depend on artistic skill.

In fact I have come to realise that painting can make you happier even if you don’t get as far as actually doing the painting part.

No really, let me explain.

Are visible pencils acceptable in finished watercolour painting? There is quite a bit to this deceptively simple question.

The short answer is yes, but let’s dive in to figure which approach to pencil drawing is going to work best for your watercolour painting.

For a beginner, a painting medium needs to be attractive, approachable and a relatively low investment, both of time and money. Watercolour is a good medium for beginners for all those reasons..

Let’s dig in to the advantages and disadvantages…