Art Is Easy to Make!

Healing Arts

Coaching Counseling Dreams Feng Shui Firewalking Flower Essences Healing Touch Homeopathy Hypnotherapy Intuitives Meditation Radionics Regression Reiki Relationships RoHun Spirituality Yoga

Know Yourself

Affirmations Astrology Biorythms Color Readings Hieroglyphics Enneagram Handwriting Numerology

Visit Poochie's Artwork

Return to the Top of Page

  Art Gallery
Centers
Enneagram
Healing Arts
Just for Fun
Know Yourself
Prosperity
Seminars
What's New?

Visit Poochie's Artwork

Lesson Three - Styles, Materials, Textures and More

WATERCOLOR PAINTING

TRANSPARENT WATERCOLOR

GOUACHE

PAPER

MEDIUMS AND AUXILIARY PRODUCTS

Gum arabic, an extract of a species of the acacia tree, is the binder used in watercolor paints. It can be diluted with water to make a weak solution that when added to watercolors increases their depth, transparency, and gloss.

Aquapasto, made by Winsor & Newton, is a gel composed of gum arabic and silica that can be mixed with water-based paints to achieve impasto effects.

Ox gall is a wetting agent that enhances the flow of watercolor and improves its acceptance on less absorbent surfaces. It will not increase the transparency of your paints, and should be used only in small amounts.

Winsor & Newton's Water Color Medium, a solution of acidified gum and water but should not be used with acid-sensitive pigments (such as cadmium yellow).

Glycerin retards the drying of watercolor by slowing down the evaporation of water. It is useful when you need to keep an area of a painting wet for longer than usual, but should be used only in very small amounts, since most commercial watercolor paints already contain a high proportion of glycerin.

MATERIALS, TOOLS, AND TECHNIQUES TO TRY WITH WATERCOLOR AND GOUACHE

Masking fluid, also called liquid frisket, is essentially a liquid latex preparation that is used to block out areas of work where you do not want paint to go. Some masking fluids are colorless; others are pigmented for better visibility. Apply masking fluid only to dry surfaces. To remove, simply rub it off with your finger. You can use rubber cement also. There are special masking tapes made for masking...of course, masking! You can use the edge of a stiff paper to hold the color in an area or the edge of a palette knife. You can draw on back of wax paper, leaving the wax as a resist.

LAYING A FLAT WATERCOLOR WASH

A good flat watercolor wash should be all one tone. Dampen your paper before starting so that no hard lines form. Mix up more paint than you think you need and, with your drawing board slightly tilted, fill your brush with color and apply the first strip across the top of the paper. Reload the brush and, working in the opposite direction, repeat the process. Continue until you have covered the entire area. You can also use stencils with this technique.

LAYING A GRADED WASH

MAINTAINING A SHARP EDGE

To lay a soft wash against an edge that needs to remain crisp and precise, first draw the outline with a clean, damp brush, then dampen your paper up to the line and work paint into just the dampened area. You can use the edge of a stiff paper to hold the color in an area or the edge of a palette knife.

BLENDING COLORS

Work on dry paper when you want sharp lines and on damp paper when you want softer edges.

THE DRYBRUSH TECHNIQUE

This technique is favored for depicting grass and other textures, although if used too often can look gimmicky. Using a dry brush dip into the paint and apply over the area desired. Pull the dry brush across the dry watercolor paper. More of the white paper shows through when you apply less pressure to the brush. Use a combination of wet and dry for a more interesting look.

SOFTENING COLOR WITH GLYCERlN

CREATING FINE LINES WITH WAXED PAPER

WORKING WITH MASKING FLUID

TURPENTINE AS A RESIST

Turpentine acts as a resist when used with watercolor because watercolor and turpentine do not mix. Try different ways to apply the turpentine for different effects.

LIQUIN AS A RESIST

MONOPRINT

A single print from a plate of some sort. Apply different colors of paint onto a smooth surface. Use sponges, scarffito, any method you desire to make designs in the paint. Lay the finish paper over this and smooth down. You can use a squeege or roller, depending of the different effects you choose. Experiment with this. Use stencils, leaves, whatever. Print from the second print onto another paper. Usually the paper you want printed is laid on top of the printing plate but you make the rules!

EXPERIMENT

Choose a nice 140 lb. watercolor paper. Wet half of the paper. Paint into the wet area and then in the dry area with the same paint color. Do this with all your colors. Try dropping color into other color. Some of these colors will push the other color away. You do need to know which of your colors will be demanding or receed. This seemingly mindless exercise can make or break your paintings. Try it, you'll enjoy it. This will show you another reason you like to paint.