How to Do a Wash Watercolor Art Painting

Watercolor set

Watercolor painting can be approached either as a fun and engaging hobby, or a serious fine art practice. Whatever your level of dedication, watercolor painting is a wonderful art form for expressing natural light situations and for working relatively quickly. Because watercolor dries so quickly and doesn’t require any bulky materials or toxic solvents, it is ideal for quick sketches and for working outdoors. With the right preparation, you can easily complete a wash watercolor painting in an afternoon, even if you have never painted before.

Things You'll Need

• Watercolor paper
• Watercolor brushes
• Jars
• Water
• Watercolor paints
• Rags or paper towels

Instructions

1. Determine the dominant colors in the scene you would like to paint. Select just one or two colors for your initial wash.

2. Mix the colors on the lid of your watercolor paint set. Dip your brush in water, and dab the brush into the paint to load the brush. Clean the brush in water thoroughly before adding a new color. Remember that mixing complementary colors (red and green, orange and blue, or purple and yellow) will produce a gray tone.

3. Wet the paper quickly with a clean brush. Add the color to the paper and quickly wash it over the entire page. Use plenty of water to keep the color thin. If the water begins to puddle, soak up excess water with a rag or a paper towel.

4. Mix subsequent colors in the same fashion. Apply the initial layers thinly, so that the light from the paper will illuminate the colors from behind.

5. Apply more saturated colors last. If a color appears too heavy or dark on the page, wet the color thoroughly with clean water and immediately soak it up with a rag or paper towel.

References

• Watercolor Tutorials: Learn to Paint