Abstract art, especially abstract watercolor paintings, have become a mainstream genre of art and particularly well known through the Russian painter Wassily Kandinsky. Kandinsky is accredited with discovering the abstract art accidentally in his studio, when he suddenly noticed that colors and shapes were descriptive on their own and did not need to be defined. Based on this finding, Kandinsky combined different artistic elements with the abstract form to create interesting, organic shapes in bold colors.

Abstract watercolors use the color and form of the painting as the subject matter, rather than a recognizable or traditional subject. Abstract watercolor painting ranges from the geometric to the more fluid, although both require great planning and execution. These paintings also depict figurative abstractions, such as a spiritual experience, emotion or sound – Although eliminating the details, the basic spirit and essence is retained. Abstract watercolors basically took after the post-Renaissance movements of Impressionism, Cubism and Fauvism. Each of these movements sought to affirm the notion that a painting does not need a representative subject to convey the message of a painting.

Since the prehistoric times, watercolors have been used to ornament walls in living and communal areas. With time, new techniques and mediums were developed, which led to increasing popularity. During the medieval period and the Renaissance, paintings in the form of frescoes and murals were widely popular.

The popularity of abstract watercolor paintings can be attributed to the American as well as British artists. Since watercolor paintings form a complex art medium, artists are at ease with improvisation, since spontaneity is an essential element in watercolor paintings. While watercolor paintings were always popular in Britain, the American artists followed and practiced under British artists.

However, during the late 19th century, the US witnessed a surge of watercolor paintings with an emphasis on individualism. This was in stark contrast to the British adherence to rigid traditions and schools of art. The popularity of watercolor paintings also increased with the discovery of paper. Artists such as Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo are known to have extensively used paper to record their thoughts and to practice.

However, the growth of Abstract Expressionism in the 1940s led to the decreasing popularity of watercolors. This was because watercolor was a small, intimate medium that provided limited scope to expressionists. However, the second half of the 20th century witnessed artists like Sam Francis and Paul Jenkins use innovative watercolor techniques and revive the popularity of watercolor paintings.

Painting your living room with more artistic ways can change the look and feel of your home completely. Newer techniques can make your rooms more stylish and modern with the correct use of colors. The best way of giving your rooms a dramatic effect is by using decorative paint styles. Decorative painting can simply refer to creating a wallpaper look by painting designs through a stencil. Stenciling the wall with your chosen designs can give the impression of a fake wallpaper effect. Wall stencils can also be used to design other rooms such as creating cartoons for your kids’ bedrooms. Other effects can also be produced on the walls by simply using a sponge instead of a normal painting brush. A sponge or even a rag can be used to dab the paint to give it a more different and textured look.

Another kind of effect which is very popular with interior decoration ideas, especially for the living room is the ‘light’ effect. Playing with the colors so that it gives the wall the impression of a shadow, or a shimmery effect can be done at ease by using two different shades for the coats. For a shadowy look, start painting one side of the wall with a dark shade then continue painting the rest of the wall with a shade lighter and so on. The shimmery effect can be achieved by painting the wall with a dark or bright color of your choice, preferably 3-4 coats and then giving a last coat with a golden shimmer or bronze shimmer paint. This lends luster to the wall.

The latest popular trend in decorative painting for the living rooms is creating a fake effect of popularly known as faux effect. You can achieve a brick like appearance to your walls or even a marble look. More creatively, the paint can be used to produce an artificial, yet real looking leathery or suede textures that give a very sophisticated look to living rooms. Nowadays,  there are kinds of paints that do not require any extra effort, but produce the effects of the textured look. These paints, although cost a bit on the higher side than the normal paints, create the basic texture look on which you can create more elaborate effects.