Becoming a successful watercolorist means mastering all wash techniques. In this lesson you will discover the common five washes and how to apply them correctly. This is the first step in gaining control over this sometimes unpredictable medium.
This is sometimes referred to as glazing since you are applying wet paint to a dry surface. The goal is to apply pigment to the desired area working top to bottom and end and end up with an evenly colored hue.
Start with a slight angle on your paper so that gravity will help the paint flow downward.
Do not pre-wet the paper.
Premix enough color to cover the area.
Use a large mop brush, or large flat brush.
You will see a bead develop if you are doing it correctly.
This is very similar to wet-in-dry but it uses more than one hue. This technique is often necessary when you want to add several hues to the initial wash.
Clean brush thoroughly before adding second hue.
Be sure to keep color saturations the same.
Avoid overworking so the colors are crisp.
Similar to wet-in-wet but the hue is more concentrated in one area. So, the end result is a shift from a saturated color to a diluted hue.
Pre-wet the paper but use less water towards bottom.
Add more color on the side of the base color for the saturated area but avoid working it into the base mixture.
Use more pigment and less water at the top and dilute as you move down.
This technique is perfect for skies and creating a random mix of hard and soft edges.
Pre-wet paper but be sure to leave some areas dry.
Apply watercolors in desired areas being sure to leave some untouched.
This creates hard and soft edges.
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