Watercolour Painting exploits the flow and transparency of pigment flooding its way across the paper. It gains its luminosity by light passing through the paint, hitting the paper and bouncing back again. So a water-painting's appeal to the eye comes from that glowing colour teamed with depth of tone, the contrasts of soft marks against crisp ones and the sparkle of untouched, pure white paper. The painter's role is to enjoy painting with light and exploit the beauty of the medium. And there is a lot of fun to be had along the way!
Among the practical advantages of watercolour painting are its relative cheapness, its portability and the fact that it is quick-drying, odour-free and clean. As for enjoyment, students quickly become hooked as the process is totally absorbing, stimulating and satisfying. Also, it allows for individual expression, with the painter's 'hand' being discernible. Enjoyable results may be achieved quickly - though a serious student knows that regular practice will bring better ones.
When starting out, it is best to stick to the 'less is more' maxim. You will need a pad of good quality watercolour paper, one size 10 brush with a point and a dome-topped mop brush of medium size. Paint comes in tubes and in blocks (or pans). Both are good - it's a matter of personal preference which you pick. Tubes can be fiddly in the field but are great in the studio, whilst a box of pans is always ready for action! Choose Artist's quality if you can and start with three colours, as indicated below, an enamel or china palette, two jars of water (one to keep clean for mixing colours, one to wash the brushes) and you are ready to start.
The following aspects are fundamental, can be quite quickly be mastered and lead to successful painting:
A box full of new paints brings out the child in all of us and it is tempting to dive in and try a little of everything all at once. While that may be fun it isn't the best way forward! The beginner should start with just a few colours and get to know them before expanding the range. Begin with primary colours: one each of Permanent Rose, Winsor Yellow and Ultramarine Blue will be sufficient to make a range of secondary colours - that is greens, violets and oranges. By mixing a little of all three primaries together the tertiaries are formed, so browns, greys and olives appear, according to the proportions of red, yellow and blue you use. Get the mix right and you have a black. Team these with the white of the paper and you have every colour you need, and because they are all made from the same primaries, there is an inbuilt harmony between them.
To start out, lift a brush full of water into your palette. Now take a lick of red and mix it into the water with the same brush. Add more paint if the mix looks very delicate. Once you are satisfied with the intensity of the colour lay a little on the paper. Now take a lick of yellow and add it to the red mix to make orange. It follows that the more yellow you add, the less red it becomes and thus you have a range of shades. You can now wash the brush and follow the same process to make green with yellow and blue, then violet with red and blue. This mixing process can be set out as a formal exercise or just played with experimentally, but you will learn more by recording what you have done, so try setting out shapes of diluted colour like this:
| red | yellow | blue |
| red + blue = violet | yellow + red = orange | yellow + blue = green |
| yellow + violet = olive | blue + orange = grey | red + green = brown |
This refers to the strength of colour according to how dilute it is. Start with a puddle of water in the palette. Mix in a touch of paint and lay a brush stroke on the page.. Now take a second touch of paint and add it to the same puddle so that the strength of colour is increased. Lay a second brush stroke next to the first, compare the two then repeat the whole procedure until you have a range passing from the lightest to the darkest. Aim to get there in 10 steps and be prepared for some paints being naturally stronger than others. This is a tonal scale and you can make one with any primary, secondary or tertiary colour. Notice how the paint dries - is there an outline, does it dry 'flat' or is there a granular quality to the paint? You are now ready to lay a wash...
Prop your pad of paper at a slight angle so that when you start to paint, gravity gently moves the wash down the page. Take your mop and lift a brush load of clean water into the palette. Add a generous lick of paint, sufficient to make a tone towards the dark end of your tonal scale. Mix it thoroughly and lift a brushload to the top of your paper and move it from left to right so that the paint follows the brush. When you reach the right hand side, lift the brush, reload and, touching into the bottom of the first band of colour, work from right to left. Work back and forth like this until you reach the bottom of the paper. Then rinse the brush, squeeze it dry in a clean rag or kitchen paper and lift away any excess paint by running it along the bottom edge. Don't be tempted to touch up any irregularities - just leave it to dry.
You will notice that when wet the paper cockles slightly. As you get better at handling the paint and laying washes, you will be ambitious for better results. So now it is time to learn how to stretch paper...
When wet, the fibres in the paper expand, causing the paint to run into rivulets and dry unevenly. By soaking and taping the paper, tension makes it dry taught giving you a far better result.
You will need a board, such as MDF or plywood at least 5 cm bigger in each dimension than your paper, a roll of paper gum tape and a very clean tray or sink containing 3-5 cm of clean water. Before you take your sheet of paper out of the pad be aware that watercolour paper has a right side, designed to hold the paint evenly and attractively. So it may help to identify the back with a pencil mark. Hold the paper by the sides to avoid getting finger marks on the top and lower the paper into the water, gently ensuring that is evenly wet. Allow it to stay there while you cut a generous length of tape for each side and keep the roll of tape well away from the water. Now lift the paper by one corner and allow excess water to run off. Put the drained paper squarely onto the board, wet each piece of tape in turn with a sponge and use it to fasten the paper in place, overlapping half on the board and half on the paper. Ensure good contact between the tape and the surfaces. Then leave the whole thing to dry flat. To ensure success remember to:
Once the paper is dry you are ready to paint and enjoy the improved surface. The finished painting can be cut from the board when dry by running a craft knife at an angle beneath the paper, then trimming away the attached gum tape.
The best way to learn is to find a class where the tutor teaches by demonstration, helps you to find your own way of working and allows everyone to learn at their own pace. Remember that classes are full of people who either are beginners or were not so long ago. In my experience the atmosphere in a class full of watercolourists is always convivial, supportive and happy!
Rebecca Hind teaches watercolour painting and drawing in South Oxfordshire and Provence - www.rebeccahind.com
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