Water Paint Techniques
One of the earliest forms of watercolor painting was developed in China starting around 4,000 B.C. In its early development painting was considered a craft, similar to pottery and jewelry carving. Once Buddhism was introduced in A.D. 1, religious murals were popularized. Watercolor is a versatile painting medium that typically uses watercolor paper, watercolor paints and a selection of paintbrushes. Try your hand at watercolor with a few basic water paint techniques.
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Washes
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Washes are a basic method of applying watercolor paint. A flat wash is when you use a large flat brush to add pigment over a large area. Wet a large area on your watercolor paper with water using a clean brush. Apply the paint in horizontal rows, overlapping brushstrokes. A graded wash is when each row of watercolor paint is diluted with water, creating a dark to light area of color. Allow your wash to dry completely before adding more paint.
Glazing
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Like a wash, glazing is when you apply a thin and light coat of paint over an area of wash. Wait for the wash to dry completely before applying a glaze. Glazes create jewel tones with many layers of thin watercolor paint. To create a thin coat, dilute your watercolor paint with lots of water. Wait for your glaze to dry completely before adding more paint.
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Wet in Wet
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The wet in wet technique starts with wetting your paper with a sponge or a large soft sable brush. Before the paper dries, apply paint with a soft brush to create blurry marks. Subtle backgrounds can be painted with wet in wet, and you may wet areas where you already painted for a wet in wet application. Wet in wet also works for the foreground, or front area, of your painting.
Dry Brush
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Opposite of wet in wet is the dry brush technique. Working on dry paper, add pigment to your brush without diluting it too much with water. Apply the dry brush to your paper to create detailed strokes. This technique is used when detail is needed, usually after washes and wet in wet applications are used.
Dropping in Color
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Dropping in color is when you add more pigment to a wet area of your painting. The new application of watercolor paint will bleed into your painting, creating vibrant colors, and gradations or variations of a color. Dropping in color is used after wet in wet and wash techniques, and less water is added to the pigment than wet in wet painting.
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