Watercolor Hints & Tips

BASICS

Before you begin

  • One to rinse the pigment out of your brush when you change colors and one that stays clean.

    You will want clean water when you activate pigment to mix up another hue. Dirty rinse water makes a HUGE difference if you are in need of a nice bright yellow. Please trust me on this one :o)

    Also, you should have clean water available when working wet-on-wet.

    If you choose to use only one container or cup of water, I suggest you choose a large one (perhaps a recycled butter tub) so that the pigment rinsed out of your brush will be as diluted as possible and you won’t need to refresh the rinse water so quickly after you begin painting.

  • To answer this I will first point out that the name of the medium is watercolor. The pigments included in the kit are in solid form waiting to be activated with water and used in your project. I suggest using the pipette to add 3 or 4 drops of water to the colors you intend to use and allow a few minutes to pass allowing the paint to soften a bit. You will want the paint to be fluid enough to flow onto the paper from your brush smoothly.

    Test the paint on the test strip or practice card (or on the back of your painting to check the intensity of the color – add water a few drops at a time to arrive at the saturation of color you are hoping for. (keep in mind that watercolors will dry to a slightly lighter hue than they appear to you when wet.

    If you are hoping for a very pale color, I suggest that you put a squirt of clean water into an empty palette well then load your brush with pigment and swirl it into the water to dilute the paint. Keep in mind that the hue of color will appear slightly lighter once it is dry. If the color is too pale after is has fully dried, you can use the same paint to add a glaze over the first layer.

  • Watercolor paint, as well as a glaze of water, will wick into any moisture present on your paper that it bumps up against (often referred to as a bloom). Use this knowledge to your advantage!

    To paint in an area adjacent to a section that is freshly painted you do have a few options:

    • Set down your brush and wait for the freshly painted area to dry completely

    • Choose a different spot to paint, then come back to this original area.

    • If available, use a blowdryer to quicken the drying process.

    • Paint the adjacent area while leaving a small amount of space to remain unpainted between the moist areas. Do this with the understanding that there will be a fine line breaking up the sections.

    OR you can choose to paint the areas and see what happens!

    The colors may mix together and you can end up with something that is truly unique and that you absolutely love!

    Experiment on the practice strip first if you like, then "go for it".

  • STAGE ONE

    Freshly applied watercolor paint is fluid and very shiny in appearance. The paint can be easily pushed and manipulated with your paintbrush and well as by tilting the paper.

    ​STAGE TWO

    As the water in the paint evaporates the painted area looses its sheen and takes on a velvety appearance. In this stage the pigment has not yet settled into the fibers of the paper and can be manipulated in a variety of ways, including but not limited to using salt, plastic wrap and assorted objects to create textures as the pigment dries.

    STAGE 3

    The paint is now dry to the touch and the pigment has settled into the paper fibers. In this stage the dried paint can be rewetted with water and pigment can be "lifted" to add highlights or to "fix" small areas. Dry paint can be glazed with a 2nd layer of the same or a different color to optically mix a new hue.

Getting Started

putting paint to paper

  • What is “wet-on-dry” you ask? It is exactly what is sounds like. Painting wet-on-dry is the process of using fluid watercolor paints on paper that is dry to the touch; the result gives a nice crisp edge and the paint only flows where your brush guides it.

  • Painting “wet-on-wet” refers to gliding watercolors over a surface moistened with either clean water or with a glaze of paint. The pigment you apply will mix with the moisture content present and will become diluted changing hue and moving about as it pleases. The pigment can be guided with your brush or by tilting the paper and allowing gravity to shift the paint. Your control (or lack of control) of this process is influenced dramatically by the amount of moisture already on the paper surface.

  • 1.Activate both of the pigments you wish to mix with a few drops of water from the pipette.

    2. Place several drops of water into an empty palette well with the pipette.

    3. Load a clean brush with pigment and swirl it into the water intended for mixing, next rinse your brush and wipe the bristles over an absorbent surface to remove remaining pigment, rinse again if needed.

    4. Load the brush with pigment from your 2nd activated color, swirl the pigment into the well with your transferred pigment allowing the two hues to mix together.

    5. Gently tap your brush on toweling to reduce the load of moisture on the tip of the brush and test your color on a practice strip or the back of your painting to assure your happiness with the mixture created.

    6. Adjust the paint mixture as needed adding pigment with a clean brush following the above steps.

    Keep in mind that watercolors dry to a slightly lighter color than when they are first applied to the surface of the paper.

  • Take advantage of the transparent qualities of watercolor by glazing or layering a wash of color over a dry area of your painting. This versatile technique offers a range of possibilities to an artist including the ability to:

    • subtly adjust the color intensity with a second wash of the same hue

    • create shadows with a glaze of a complimentary color

    • change-up a hue completely (Example: blue glazed over yellow will create green)

  • Using the back of your hand touch the surface of your painting. If the paper feels cool to the touch, odds are that the paint is NOT totally dry yet.

    Wait a few more minutes for the moisture to evaporate before glazing another color on top or up against the area to avoid unwanted “blooms” and frustration.

    Why use the back of your hand?

    The skin on the back of your hand is thinner and is sensitive to temperature; also your palm may have contaminants which could transfer to the surface of your painting.