I am rolling my eyes with embarrassment when I tell you that
when I first saw watercolor paintings with wide expanses of color I assumed
that these were applied and then wiped out and smoothed over after they were
laid down. I had no idea that there were watercolor painting techniques that
you could use to get that effect with the stroke of the brush (and a lot of
practice). Mea culpa--I'm a novice!
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| Kind of Blue by Amy Arntson, watercolor painting, 32 x 32. |
But after I found that out, I did my watercolor art research
and found several great tips for laying washes that are soft, diffuse, and
flowing:
No stinginess. I'm always trying to hoard paint and that is
a big mistake. To lay a wash, you've got to do it in one go, and to be on the
safe side you should mix more pigment than you think you will need.
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| Spinner by Mary Whyte, watercolor painting, 2007. |
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Go off-kilter. Angling your watercolor painting surface
forces a wash to flow downward and there won't be any drips. If you want to
stop or reverse the direction that the paint flows, hold the surface so that
you can quickly reverse the angle.
Don't turn back. This is the hardest one for me! You can't
fix a wash by going back into it. In fact, usually it becomes more of a mess.
Because of this, I keep scratch paper nearby to do a few practice strokes
before I lay down the wash that I hope will be "the one."
If you want to see more incredible washes--plus luscious color and light effects--expert watercolor artist Mary Whyte's DVD, Watercolor Portraits of the South, is just the thing. It'll be sent right to your door or you can get the video as an HD digital download. Either way—enjoy!
