Press Hot Press has a fine-grained, smooth surface, with almost no tooth. Cold Press has a slightly textured surface, most often used by artists. Rough has a lot of texture or tooth and adds move visual interest.
Tooth - the more "tooth" a paper has, the rougher it feels.
Weight Common weights for watercolor papers are 90lb., 140 lb. and 300 lb. 90 lb. is often a less expensive, thinner, student grade paper 300 lb. is thicker and heaver, but still should be stretched.
Watercolors
should glow and be
translucent, like
looking through a
Stained Glass
Painting
Watercolors are a translucent media that the light travels though the paint and bounces off the white paper to provide a light glow of the amazing colors you have mixed.
Your goals are to place emphases on beautifully mixed and overlapping colors, create interesting textures by using various techniques, and to make sure the viewer can still see through the paint like one can see through a stained glass window.
Glazing or Layering
Glazing also called Layering is the most basic and common watercolor technique.
Artist let one area dry before painting a second layer on top.
The translucent watercolor layers produce a new color and do not bleed if the base layer is 100% dry.
Below an artist creates test strips to determine what the layered colors will look like before they use it in a final artwork.
Create 12 different Watercolor Techniques
Use two pieces of sketchbook paper and create 6 rectangles on each piece of paper. When done painting your 12 techniques label them. Use two, 9" x 12" sketchbook papers!
Do not use your good quality watercolor paper for these techniques. Save it for you good watercolor paintings.
Several good online videos demonstrating various techniques:
Gouache is a type of paint that is designed so the artist can change the opacity and work transparent like watercolors or opaque like tempera paint. Below you can see that Gouache and Watercolor effects can be similar. If you have Gouache at home you may use it transparent like watercolor paint.
Work from Light to Dark
With watercolor it's important to lay down your light colors first and work towards the darker colors. Have patience - there's no rush. We start with the light colors first because once you lay down the dark colors, it's hard to undo. Due to the transparency of watercolor, your light colors won't show if they're covered up by dark colors. Also, the white and light areas of your painting are coming from the paper, so plan ahead and keep in mind which areas you want to keep white. Masking fluid, rubber cement or masking tape are great ways to reserve areas of white on your painting.
Dry Brush Using a dry brush technique is great for creating grass, hair and fur. Besides a small brush other brushes such as a fan brush may also be used.
25+ Watercolor Techniques
I have listed many techniques to choose from below. If you do not have specific supplies, find another technique there are over 20+ techniques listed below. * The techniques with a * are easier, or often look better.
1. *Flat Wash – a light layer of watercolor that is evenly painted and translucent
2. *Graded Wash or Graduated Wash – a wash that goes from light to dark
3. *Variegated Wash – a wash that goes from one color evenly to another color
4. *Sgraffito – mean “to scratch” in Italian, artists scratch through a half dry layer to reveal an underlayment of dry colored paint. Can also be used to indent paper and pull the liquid watercolor before painting.
5. *Dry Brush or Dry on Dry – create; fur, grass, bark, highlights
6. *Wet in Wet – While one color is wet add a second color to allow them to mix
7. *Layering / Glazing – Allow one color to dry, then paint over with addition layers of paint. Always allow each layer to dry completely to create this effect.
8. *Blooms, Blossoms, Back runs, & Cauliflowers - A bloom is a unpredictable flow mark created when liquid is added to an already drying wash. These terms are often similar or interchangeable techniques that very only slightly in drying time or the final look. Drying time is extremely import for these techniques such as Blooms & Back runs. 9. Bleeding - When one color leaches into a another color. It can be considered a mistake or a technique. Often a blue sky will bleed into a yellow sun and turn green because students to not allow the paints to fully dry.
10. Dry on Wet - Allow a wash to dry 100%. Then go back and do wet painting on top, this effect sometimes looks like spray paint.
Other materials or supplies are often used to create more effects...
Rubbing Alcohol
Salt is placed on while paint is wet
11. *Masking – Masking Fluid is painted, Masking Tape is cut to protect a shape before painting. Masking Tape can also be used for straight lines such as around your rectangles for your 12 techniques.
12. Rubber Cement – another way to mask or protect your paper before painting
13. Template – create a small template to protect you image and paint template
14. Stamp – stamp another color on top of a dried area of water color , try using a pen cap, plastic toy, or other items you find around your house.
15. *Oil Pastel Resist or Crayon Resist – draw lines or design in oil pastel then paint over in different color allowing the paint to bead off oil pastel, crayon, or wax
16. *Plastic Wrap – While paint is wet, lay plastic wrap and move it to create lines, allow to dry in place before taking plastic wrap off
17. *Bubble wrap – press bubble wrap onto wet paint and allow to dry
18. Wax Paper - can be ripped, cut, lay it on wet paint and allow it to dry 19. *Rubbing Alcohol – drip or paint rubbing alcohol on top of wet paint to make the paint move away
20. *Lemon - lemon is acidic, drip some on or move it around like the alcohol.
21. *Salt – While paint is wet, put salt on top to create a crystal effect. Rock salt and coarse salt often look even more interestin. Allow paint to fully dry before dusting salt off paper.
22. *Rice - sprinkle rice on wet paint and let is sit and absorb the water and paint.
23. Blotting / Tissue – pull out paint color while paint is still wet - great for clouds
24. Splatter Color / Spray Color - cover to protect other areas from over spray
25. Straw Blowing – often used to create scattered lines for trees and branches
Contemporary Watercolor Artist, Janet Fish, working on one of her large paintings of highly reflective colorful objects, which often include glass, plastic, or mirrors.
Famous Painters
'Hare', 1502 Watercolor Albrecht Dürer
Dry Brush / Detail
'Pink Peach Trees', 1888 Watercolor Vincent van Gogh
Wet on Wet / Loose Wet on Dry
'Pink Tulip', 1926 Watercolor Georgia O'Keeffe
Blending / Washes
John Singer Sargent, 'Gondoliers’ Siesta', Watercolor, 1904
Note the texture of the watercolor paper.
Ali Cavanaugh Watercolors on clay panels - 2018
St. Louis-based artist Ali Cavanaugh paints dreamlike watercolors of female subjects on large wet clay panels that have been fired in a kiln. She refers to her works as “modern frescos,” due to their similarity to the fresco style of painting, and the luminosity she creates through a method of layering translucent pigments on bright white surfaces.