Watercolor Painting for Dummies (16 page)
Read Watercolor Painting for Dummies Online
Authors: Colette Pitcher
Tags: #Art, #Techniques, #Watercolor Painting, #General
Some techniques require wet paper, but for hard, crisp edges, you need drier paper and a drier brush. Of course, a dry brush in watercolor painting is a relative term because it’s watercolor and everything is wet. But having your sponge absorb most of the water from your brush before you dip it into paint lets you execute those very controlled, every-hair-on-the-dog type paintings for the control freak in you. To stay in control of your detail, stay dry.
To dry your brush, touch the base or heel of the hairs on the damp sponge beside your water container. This absorbs excess water from the brush but leaves pigment in the tip of the hairs to paint with. Choose a small brush when you want lots of detail and control.
If you want a hard edge, you must be patient. If one area of your paper is wet and you touch it with another wet, the wets will run into each other. Goodbye hard edge. Have patience, or use a blow-dryer to dry your painting so you can keep working.
And, speaking of dry, to test the paper to see if it’s dry yet, use the back of your hand to gently touch the surface of the paper. If it’s cool to the skin, the paper is still wet. Notice that I said the
back
of your hand. If you use the palm of your hand, the paper may feel dry before it really is dry. The palm of your hand has been used so much — burned, blistered, lotioned, and so on — that it’s no longer as sensitive as the back of your hand.
Master these three watercolor painting techniques, and you’ll know all you need to paint anything you want. These techniques really are all you have to work with. I have no idea why it took me 40 years to figure that out. Truly, the rest of this book is just refinement and details. Here are the basics:
Flat wash and hard edges:
A
wash
is pigment in water. A
flat wash
is an even color with no variation in color value (light or darkness). A
hard edge
is a crisp, abrupt change, like a line.
Graded wash and soft edges:
This wash is a
gradation
of color from light to dark. The
soft edge
is a slow change that may not even be perceptible.
Rough texture:
You need a paper with some texture — a cold-press paper or one with a bumpy surface (see Chapter 2 for more on paper textures) — to stand up to the rough texture technique.
To achieve rough texture, use paint that is slightly dry. Make a quick stroke with the side of your brush so the paint just coats the paper’s surface bumps and leaves the pockets between the bumps paint-free. You want white paper showing through. This rough texture can simulate sparkle on a lake or tree bark.
Make a chart to explore the three techniques on wet and dry paper. Figure 3-7 shows what you’re aiming for.
1.
Draw six 2-inch squares on cold-press or rough watercolor paper.
Make two 2-inch-wide columns that are 6 inches long. Divide each column into thirds. You have three rows of 2-inch squares.
2.
Label the columns
dry
and
wet.
The first column will be techniques on dry paper, so write
dry
at the top. Label the second column
wet,
because you’re going to do the same techniques after you wet the paper.
3.
Label the rows
hard-edge, flat wash;
soft-edge, graded wash;
and
rough texture.
Figure 3-7:
The three basic paint techniques on dry and wet paper.
4.
Prepare your paint.
Use a paintbrush of your choosing to gather one color of pigment and mix it with water in the mixing area of your palette. I used burnt sienna, but any dark color works. You want a dark paint, but not so dark that you can’t see through it. Add just enough water to make the pigment move like ink, but still remain dark.
5.
Paint the top square in the dry column with a flat wash with hard edges on dry paper.
Fill in the square with the paint. Try to fill it in with even color. If you use a flat 2-inch brush, this could be one stroke. If the brush is smaller, it may take several strokes. If you get puddles, dry your brush with a paper towel. This makes the brush a
thirsty brush
that absorbs liquid from the paper instead of dispensing it. Or if you touch the top of a puddle with the edge or corner of a paper towel, it will absorb just water, leaving the heavier pigment on the paper.
6.
Dampen the top square in the wet column with clear water and paint a flat wash with hard edges on wet paper.
Use your brush to paint clear water over the square. Try to make even wetness, no puddles, just a shiny surface. Absorb any excessive puddles with a paper towel. Apply paint as you did in Step 5. The object is to make an even tone throughout the square.
7.
Paint the middle square in the dry column with a soft-edge, graded wash.
Paint at the top of the square. Rinse your brush and apply a stripe of clear water at the bottom of the square, leaving dry paper between the two. Dry the brush on the sponge to make a damp, not drippy, brush and use it to introduce the two stripes by painting a stripe of clear water between them. Your goal is to make a dark-to-light gradation from top to bottom. The transition is a smooth, soft edge. Here, the soft edge is in the middle of the square, as opposed to the hard edges on the outside edges of the square.
8.
Dampen the middle square in the wet column and paint a soft-edge, graded wash on wet paper.
Paint clear water over the square as you did in Step 6. Then apply your pigment to the top of the square. Rinse the brush and move the paint down the square making the color lighter as it approaches the bottom of the square. Pick up unwanted puddles with a thirsty brush. Apply more paint if needed. Your goal is dark to light, top to bottom.
9.
Paint the bottom square in the dry column with rough texture on dry paper.
Pick up some pigment in your brush and touch the base of the hairs near the ferrule on the sponge to absorb excess water. Use the side of the brush and quickly stroke over the square, leaving little valleys of white paper. Try again until you get some rough texture.
10.
Dampen the last square in the wet column and paint rough on wet.
Dampen the square first (as you did in Step 6), then apply paint as you did in Step 9. This technique works better on dry paper and may not work on wet paper, but because you already have a square, you may as well try it.
Along with hard and soft edges, both of which you need in every painting to make it interesting, you may hear about lost edges. Who lost them? Where did they go? A
lost edge
is a type of soft edge that disappears into another area. A lost edge makes the viewer decide where the edge is because the artist doesn’t spell out every detail. The viewer gets to participate in the painting experience. “Lose that edge” might be an artistic directive. To do so, gently nudge a hard edge with a stiff bristle brush to soften it. If you completely soften it so it disappears, you make a lost edge.
This section covers the three techniques every watercolorist uses to modify his basic painting. You can erase watercolor. It’s called
lifting.
You can continue painting to improve your work by adding
layers.
You can create focus and dimension on a final painting by
glazing.
Want to remove or erase paint? You can! At least you can make an area lighter. You can
lift
(remove) paint to correct excess paint or create a highlight.
How much paint you can lift depends on the paper and pigment. Some papers lift more easily than others. Some paper brands have a softer finish and lift very easily. Some brands absorb the pigment and are more difficult to lift; however, these papers can be layered with paint without disturbing what lies underneath. Your paper dealer can advise you on which brands to purchase for your needs. Earth-colored pigments are pretty forgiving and lift easily; staining pigments are a bit less forgiving and may never lift completely. (See Chapter 2 for more on pigments.)
You can lift paint wet or dry:
Lifting wet paint:
If paint is damp on the watercolor paper, use a clean, damp brush and touch the area that you want to remove paint from. Follow the shape you need lightened with the damp brush: Draw a line, touch a dot, or use the side of the brush for a large area.
After you lift out the paint, blot the area with a paper towel. If you want it lighter still, wait until the area is dry and then follow the instructions in the next bullet point.
Lifting dry paint:
Use a round brush with clear water to dampen the area you want to lift and blot the area with a towel. Turn the towel to a clean spot and rub the area vigorously and quickly using a bit of pressure. This usually is enough to lift what you want, but if you want more lifting, use a damp brush with stiff bristles and rub the area. Blot with a towel. Continue until the paper peels up in little crumbs. At this point, stop and let the area dry.
Watercolor dries 30 percent lighter than it looks when wet. So wait to see if the area you want lifted is light enough when it’s dry before trying to lift more paint.
