Watercolor Techniques

As in all of art, the art of watercoloring has amassed a collection of techniques that have been painstakingly discovered over the years. Artists have tried a myriad different ways to create the desired effect on canvas and paper. The most useful techniques have survived the test of time becoming part of the artist’s technical tool chest and are in use today.

The following are some methods in vogue today in the beautiful art of watercolor painting.

Washes

The first technique on the list is the most basic of them all, washes… For example, the flat wash. One way of doing it is wetting the area on the paper and mixing enough pigment to fill it up.

The graded wash requires that the pigment is slightly diluted with water with each stroke. The resultant wash fades out gradually and evenly.

Glazing

This is almost the same technique as a wash, except that it uses a thin, transparent pigment applied over dry existing washes. This is mainly to adjust the color and tone of the underlying wash.

The trick to success is to make sure the first wash to be painted over is dry.

Wet in Wet

Wet in wet is applying the pigment to a wet paper. Depending on the wetness of the paper, the resulting strokes can vary even from each other. It can leave soft undefined shapes or some slightly blurred marks.

This technique is applied over existing washes. You just have to make sure the laid-on washes are dry.

Simply wet the paper with a large brush and paint into the dampness. Those marks made by, wet in wet, make very subtle background regions in the painting.

Dry Brush

This is almost the opposite of the wet and wet technique. The brush filled with a pigment and then slightly dipped in water is dragged on a dry paper.

The marks produced by the strokes tend to come forward and are crisp and hard-edged. They are best applied around the focus of interest in the painting.

Lifting Off

To lift off color and pigment from the artwork, wet the area with a brush and clean water and blot the pigment away with a tissue. Masking some areas of pigment with strips of paper in the lifting process will bring out some interesting hard-edged lines and shapes.

(Some pigments are difficult to remove and should be avoided in this technique – Prussian blue, Windsor red, yellow and blue.)

Dropping in Color

For some surprising effects, try this technique. The process is simple. Introduce a color into a wet region and let it bleed, blend, and feather without interruption.

The resulting shapes and forms are unpredictable and interesting, and can be astonishing, at times. This is one color gradation that cannot be achieved by mixing the pigment on the palette.

Splattering

For certain needs of the painting, splattering paint can be done to achieve what you want.

First, dip a brush (or a toothbrush, depending on the size of spatter you want) into the paint. Scrape the bristles with a finger from your other hand and aim the spatter onto your painting.

Tissue Paper Texture

The paint on the surface should not be so wet. Use a crumpled tissue to pick up the paint. The image left behind can approximate rocks, foliage or treetops.

With a curious mind and some creativity, you can discover some techniques of your own. Watercolor painting is a fluid art.

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