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Topic: Getting Started in Watercolor: Basic Supplies for Beginners

Revised November 2002:I've had a lot of email asking about what minimal basic supplies one needs to get started inwatercolor, and telling me how confusing it can be for a beginner in an art supply store whenconfronted with the hundreds of choices of paints, brushes, paper and other tools.

First a general comment on materials. Buy the best materials you can afford. You may think you aresaving money buying the cheapest paper, but when the surface lacks enough sizing, the paint soaks in

to the point where you can't get anything but pastel color, and you won't be happy. Or, when thepaper rips or balls up at the least little scrubbing of your brush, your painting will be ruined. You maythink you are saving money to buy the least expensive paints, but they generally have less pigment inthem than the more expensive brands, so you end up using more of them to get a good, rich saturatedcolor. You may think a camel's hair brush (the kind that comes in the childrens' paint box sets) is goodenough, but it won't spring back into shape after a stroke, or hold a sharp point, or carry much color,and those are qualities you need to have in a watercolor brush. So, that having been said, here are myrecommendations for the suppliesyou can get by with as a beginning painter.

BASIC BRUSHES:You will need at least one watercolor "round"brush. I suggest a size 8, and if you plan to dolarger paintings, a size 10 or 12. I recommendWinsor Newton Sceptre Series 101. These brushes

are a blend of natural sable and synthetic hair. Ifprice is no object, get a good 100% sable-hairbrush. Nothing matches their ability to spring backinto shape, hold a point, and hold a quantity ofpigment and water before running dry. However,know that a natural hair brush will wear out fasterthan a synthetic one. Yes, your brushes do wear outand will eventually have to be replaced!

You will also need a flat wash brush, 1/2" orlarger. I use Grumbacher Series 4424 SableEssence, and I have three different sizes from 1/2"to 1". They are a synthetic fibre brush, with ahandle that has an angled end for scraping,

burnishing, scratching and other watercolortechniques. However, if you prefer, you can get anall-sable brush or a blended hair brush in this flatshape.

You will also need an "oval wash" or "mop"brush for getting large amounts of water and/orpaint onto your paper surface quickly. I recommendWinsor Newton Series 240 goat hair wash brush,Size 3, or an equivalent squirrel hair mop brush.Don't expect to do detail work or paint aroundshapes with this brush. It's a "floppy" brush just forpre-wetting or washing in a large area. If youprimarily paint small (less than half sheet), thenyou can probably skip this brush. Some people usean inexpensive "hake" brush for this, but I dislikethem because they tend to shed hair profuselywhile you're painting.

Caring for and storing your brushes:Your brushes will last longer if cared for properly.Always wash them when you are finished paintingfor the day. I use a mild soap (ivory) and warmwater and make a little soapy suds in the palm ofmy hand. I gently massage the bristles of my

Optional brushesIn addition to the basic round, wash and flat

brushes that you need to get started, the followingbrushes are nice to have for specific tasks, and

after you've been painting for awhile, you may wantto add them to your collection.

The rigger or liner brush is good for fine lines andsmall details.

This brush is about 3" wide...if you work large (fullsheet or larger), this is a great brush to have for itsability to put large amounts of paint on the paper in

a very short time. This is a good substitute brushfor the oval wash or "mop" brush.


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brushes into this soapy suds and rinse thoroughly.It's especially

important to get the paint out of the heel of thebrush (the part next to the metal ferrule). When thebrush is clean use your fingers to gently (don't tugor pull) reshape it to a point if necessary, then lay iton a flat surface to dry. When it's completely dry,you can store it resting point up, handle down in a

jar or other container. Don't everstore a wet brush


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Basic Tube Colors

You need a warm and a cool version of each"primary" colorred, yellow and blueso that youcan mix the other colors you need and get clean,clear mixtures. I recommend the Winsor & Newtoncolors below, but because my viewers have askedfor less expensive alternates, I am including theGrumbacher Academy colors as well.

I have revised this basic color list again, andincluded the Color Index Name, so that if you aresubstituting brands, you can be sure you aregetting the same pigment. Color index names aremore precise than common names. For example,the Color Index Name of French Ultramarine Blue isPigment Blue 29, abbreviated to PB29. Color IndexName information should be on the label of anyreputable paint, regardless of brand.

Purple-biased Blue (cool): Look for PB29 on thelabelFrench Ultramarine 263, Winsor & Newton

Artists' ORUltramarine Blue 219, Grumbacher Academy

Green-biased Blue (cool): Look for PB15 orPB15:3 on the labelWinsor Blue (green shade) 707, Winsor &Newton Artists' ORThalo Blue 203, Grumbacher Academy

Green-biased Yellow (cool): Look for PY3 on thelabelWinsor Lemon 772, Winsor & Newton Artists' ORLemon Yellow 118, Grumbacher Academy

Orange-biased Yellow (warm): Look for PY97,PY153 or PY154 on the labelTransparent Yellow 653, Winsor & NewtonArtists' OR*Golden Yellow 081, Grumbacher Academy

Purple-biased Red (cool): Look for PR N/A-PR206or PV19 on the labelPermanent Alizarin Crimson 466, Winsor &Newton Artists' ORThalo Crimson 204, Grumbacher Academy

Orange-biased Red (warm): Look for PR188,PR253 or PR108 on the labelScarlet Lake 603, Winsor & Newton Artists' OR*Vermilion Hue 224, Grumbacher Adademy

*Colors marked with an asterisk are not completelylightfast.

For the CLEANEST color mixtures, mix any twocolors that have the same bias (like an orange-biased red and an orange-biased yellow, forexample, for the CLEANEST orange mixture). If youwant to make duller or less intense hues, mix colorswith different biases (like a green-biased yellow anda purple-biased red, for example. The resultingorange mixture will be a duller orange). See my tipon color mixing.

Optional Additional Colors:Cobalt Blue, Winsor & NewtonOR Cobalt BlueHue 049, Grumbacher Academy) OR Cobalt Blue178, Winsor & Newton Cotman (a mid-value blue)

This blue is nearly temperature neutral. Look forPB28 on the label

PAINTS & PALETTE:If you are going to be serious about watercolor, youneed to have good paints(pigments). If you are only

going to paint once in awhile and will be unable tokeep your paints from drying out between paintingsessions, then you should get pan (semi-moist)watercolors. I'm not going to discuss pan colorshere. If you really want to progress in watercoloryou need to be painting oftenevery day ifpossiblebut certainly often enough that yourpaints won't dry up if kept in a covered palette. Andthat means you probably will want paint in tubes.

There are many brands of watercolor available. I'msuggesting Winsor Newton and Grumbacherbecause they are widely available, but if you wantto research equivalent colors by other

manufacturers, go online to handprint.com whereyou will find a wealth of information about thepigments used in many manufacturer's paints.

There are also a couple of book in print that dealwith this subjectMichael Wilcox's book, The BestWatercolor Paints (recently revised), or HilaryPage's Guide to Watercolor Paints, published byWatson-Guptill.

I use and like the watercolor paints from DanielSmith, in addition to Winsor & Newton. In the list atthe left, the first color (in bold) is my first choice;the color that follows the OR is my second choice.

You only need six colors to start with. Once

you are comfortable with what those six willaccomplish, you can add from the optional list,which includes some additional blues, some earthcolors, and black and white if you feel you musthave them.

You will need some kind of palette to keep yourpaint in and use for mixing colors. If you are anartist that likes to have only freshly squeezed paint,your palette could be as simple as a white china orplastic picnic plate. If you like putting the wholetube in a palette well, and covering it betweenpainting sessions, I recommend the whiteplastic palettes with lids. I use a Robert E.

Woods palette, but there are many different brandsavailable. The lids keep the paint clean and alsofrom drying out between painting sessions,especially if you put a wet piece of thin sponge inthe mixing well before you put the lid on. I squeezeout enough paint to nearly fill each well I am usingbecause I paint often. If you are not going to paintdaily, you may only want to squeeze out a quarter
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Archival Paper Matters!You've spent (or will spend) yearslearning and refining your craft and yourideas. You want your paintings to last.Make sure the paper you buy is acid-free (between 6.5 and 8pH) andbufferedwith calcium carbonate, which

is capable of neutralizing acid...thegreatest enemy of paper. When youframe and store your paintings, makesure that the other materials that comein contact with the watercolor paper arealso archival.

Stretching Paper:When I use 140 lb. paper, I stretch it, by soaking itfirst for 5-10 minutes in the bathtub, laying it weton a wood drawing board, and then stapling the wetpaper all around the edges at 1" intervals to theboard. As it dries, it shrinks and pulls very tight andflat, and remains that way, even when re-wet.When I'm through with the painting, I remove thestaples with a flat staple remover. When I frame the

piece, I can either use the mat to cover the stapleholes, or, if I want to "float" the painting, I will hand-tear the edges of the paper back beyond the stapleholes to create a new "deckle" type edge.

PAPER:Watercolor paper comes in blocks of varioussizes, or in sheets. (see photo, left) A "full sheet"is approximately 22" x 30", and may have deckle orstraight edges depending on the manufacturer, andwhat type of paper-making machinery was used tomake it. Cylinder mould made papers will always

have two deckle edges. Hand-made papers willhave deckle edges on all four sides. You can cut ortear these full sheets into smaller size sheets forsmaller paintings. You can also buy larger sheets(up to 40" x 60") and even larger rolls of watercolorpaper.

The paper will have a specific surface, ranging fromvery slick and smooth (hot press), to very textured(rough). A surface in between, and one Irecommend for beginners, is slightly textured(cold press).

Paper also comes in different weights, from 90 lb.to 300 lb. generally. A lot of the "student grade"paper is 90 lb. This paper is too lightweight to doany scrubbing or surface manipulation withoutrisking damage to the paper surface. I recommend140 lb. paper, either sheets or blocks. If youwant your paper to stay flat even after applying areally wet wash, you will either need to stretch it, oruse watercolor blocks (the sheets are glued at theedges which helps the paper return to a flat stateas it dries). If you don't want to use blocks, and youdon't want to stretch your paper, you paint very"wet" and you still want the painting to stay veryflat as you work, then you probably need 300 lb.paper.

Update: Strathmore Paper recently began offeringtheir Aquarius II paper again. It is part synthetic

paper, and although only 80 lb, will stay flatwithout stretching and take a fair amount ofscrubbing as well.

Sizing is gelatin, animal glue and/or starch-basedproducts that are added to the paper at the pulpstage (internal sizing) and sometimes again afterthe sheet is formed (external sizing). The sizingcontrols how the paper accepts paint (how far intothe surface the paint sinks), and how much you can"abuse" the paper (erase, scrub out paint, rewetand repaint, etc.) before it will no longer accept

paint well. The best modern papers are bothinternally and externally sized.


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Volume 1 of my 5-volume video set forbeginning watercolor painters has lots more

on this topicClick Here For More Information

OTHER TOOLS AND MATERIALS:The only other thing you have to have is somekind of water container. I use two large recycledplastic "Cool Whip" containers, one for clean water,and one to use for rinsing.

You will also probably find a sponge and a roll of

paper towels handy for removing excess paintand/or water from the edges of your paper or worksurface. I also use a roll of toilet tissue turned on itsside as a "blotter" for my paint brush...to removeexcess water or paint, all I have to do is swipe thebrush on the roll. As the tissue gets dirty, I unwindthe roll to expose cleaner areas. You could use yoursponge for this purpose, though, and just rinse itout periodically.

Optional accessories:Another handy tool is an x-acto knife in a case(this is particularly good to have if you are workingwith block paper, as the knife is great for

separating the sheets of paper from the block asyou use them). The knife is also good for scratchingor scraping out little highlight areas at the very endof a painting or (in my case especially) for cuttingmasking materials or stencils.

I also use a spray bottle filled with distilledwater (for re-wetting and for forcing paint tospread in a "spatter" pattern), an old toothbrushfor spattering paint, a flat staple remover, and ofcourse, a sketchbook, drawing pencil, and alarge soft eraser.The latter is also used to cleanup stray pencil marks (if desired) after you finishyour painting and it is completely dry.

Topic: Learning to Mix Colors

If you bought the six basic tube colors I recommended in my Basic Supplies tip, this topic will help youlearn to mix these six colors effectively. I recommend starting with a small number of colors and usingand mixing those for a while to get completely familiar with what they can do; you can always addmore colors to your palette as you get more experienced. Below are the six colors (with theiralternates) that I recommend as starter colors. (WN) stands for Winsor & Newton Artists' watercolors,(GRA) stands for Grumbacher Academy watercolors. The first color listed is my first choice and arebetter quality paints overall, but because my viewers have asked for less expensive alternatives, I am

including the Grumbacher Academy colors. However, please be aware that Golden Yellow andVermilion Hue are not as lightfast as the Winsor & Newton alternates.
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When choosingpaints, pleaseconsult eitherMichael Wilcox'sGuide to The BeWatercolor Paintor Hilary Page'sGuide toWatercolor Paintor (best guide) gonline towww.handprint.mand look up tparticularmanufacturer'spaint you areconsidering tocompare pigmeused,transparency,staining etc.

You cannot go bthe common na(Sap Green, forexample). Youneed to look forthe pigmentformulation (PGso that you cancompare one pato anotheraccurately.

Update:November 200I am nowrecommending

Daniel Smithwatercolors asan alternatechoice for thebasic six colorsshown at left.

The Daniel Smitsubstitutes (leftright, top tobottom) are:ultramarine bluehansa yellow ligquinacridone re

phthalo blue (gshansa yellowmedium, andorganic vermillio

st of you are familiar with the color wheel.onsists of the primary colorsred, yellow

blue, and the secondary colorsgreen,nge and purple(or violet).

s, oranges and yellows are warm colors;ens, blues and purples are cool colors.
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t of the difficulty in mixing watercolor

Above: French ultramarine orultramarine blue mixed withpermanent alizarin crimson orthalo crimson. These two colors

both lean toward violet, so willgive you the 'purest' purplemixtures.

Below: Thalo blue or Winsorblue [green shade] and bright

Above: French ultramarine orultramarine blue mixed withWinsor lemon. These two colorswill give you good greens, but

because the blue leans towardpurple (has a little red in it), thegreens aren't 'pure'.

Below: The thalo blue or Winsorblue [green shade] mixed withthe Golden Yellow or Transparent

Above: Permanent alizarin crimsonor thalo crimson mixed with Winsoryellow. These two colors give youthe least pure, intense oranges

because they lean towardcompletely different colors. If aquieter, duller orange is what youwant, use these two pigments.


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red or vermilion hue. Becausethe blue leans toward green andthe red leans toward yellow, bothof these pigments have someyellow in them, so the mix won'tmake violet, but more of a graycolor. This is, in fact, one of myfavorite mixtures for makingblack(a very saturated wash) orgray(more water, less paint).

You can make the gray warmeror cooler by adjusting theblue/red ratio.

Yellow results in good richgreens, but again, not the purestmix, because the yellow leanstoward orange.

The purest greens would be fromWinsor Blue [gs] or Thalo blue

and Winsor lemon because theyboth lean toward green.

Below: Scarlet lake or vermilion hueand golden yellow or transparentyellow make good clean orangesbecause both of these pigments lean

toward orange.

Mixing more than two pigments, or mixing two pigments that are biased towardcompletely different colors will always result in more "neutralized" (less intense orpure) mixtures. These less intense mixtures can be wonderful colors, and you needto know how to mix them to play them off against brighter, purer colors.

In the example at the right, you can see that using duller, more neutral reds andblues around the brighter colors in the center (bottom, right) helps the brightcolors stand out more than they do in the top right example, where the blue andred are used in their more pure, state.


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Mixing color is a matter ofproportion. How much of eachcolor that goes into the mixdetermines the outcome. Alwaysstart your mix with the lightest ofthe pigments you are using, andadd the others to it. Some pigmentsare much more "powerful" (that is,they have greater tinting strength),

and it will only take a very smallamount of them to change anothercolor. In the sample at the left, I'mmaking a brown. The swatches ontop approximate the proportion ofcolor that would go into the mix. Inthe first sample, much less blue isused because it is thalo blue, andhas much greater tinting strengththan ultramarine blue.

Finally, colors will look different if you mix them on your paper rather than in your palette. Some artistslike to only mix their colors on the paper, not completely blending them together. Others like thecontrol of color that mixing in the palette gives. Experiment with both methods to find the way thatsuits you. Whichever way you go, don't OVERMIX your pigments. Let them retain a bit of their

individuality...even in mixtures.

The little sample at the left uses color temperature (warm to cool) to move us from one side of thebuilding to the other, and from the warm reflected light from the ground to the cooler reflected lightfrom the sky. It also shows how using neutralized colors (in the building, shadows and ground) can setoff purer, brighter colors (the red flowers and bright green bushes).

Topic: Watercolor Paints: Qualities & Characteristics

You've just bought your first tubes of professional quality watercolor paints. Great! Once you get toknow them well, your color mixing should be easier, with more predictable results, and your paintingswill benefit from your added knowledge. What do you need to know about the colors you've just

purchased? They all fall under the general category of watercolor, but they each have unique qualities.Are you a painter that likes to build up your paintings slowly with layers of luminous color? Then youneed to use the most transparentpigments you can find. Are you a plein-aire painter, who wants tomake gutsy, expressionistic works? Then you may want pigments that are a bit more opaque, andsedimentary. Do you keep having trouble with a particular color "taking over" every color mixture youmake? Do you like to lift out color by rewetting portions of your painting and blotting it? You need toknow about staining and tinting strength. For a top-notch discussion of all these qualities (and muchmore), Handprint.com has the best information available online.Bookmark the site, because you'll wantto go back from time to time.

All of these qualities are things you can discover with a little testing. Here's how to do it.

Transparency

You can easily discover the relative transparency of each of your colors. Uspermanent magic marker to draw a wide (about 1/4"-1/2") line on a piecewatercolor paper. Let your marker line dry completely. Now, for each colorto test, mix up a fairly saturated brushful of your paint color, and brush it acmarker line. Do this for each color you have, labeling them with the manufa(note if student or professional grade), and the color name and number. Letsamples dry, then look carefully at the area where the paint overlaps the blIf the color "disappears" when it overlaps the line (i.e. you just see a black liconsider that color to be very transparent.

In the sample at the left, most of these cool reds are transparent; the leasttransparent one is the Permanent Rose [Winsor & Newton Cotman]. You canthat it leaves more of a deposit on top of the black line than the other color
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test every time I buy a new tube of paint. Thererences between brands, even when the colorthe same.

ht samples, the warm reds, particularly thes and Winsor & Newton's Bright Red, are fairly

The Sennelier brand of Cadmium Red Pale nearlye black line. It is very opaque.

een-leaning yellows, many are somewhatwith the Sennelier Cadmium Yellow Lemon beingopaque. Winsor and Newton's new Transparentvery transparent in thinner, less saturated

ber: opaque colors do not glaze or layerwell! Use opaques for more directpainting styles...put them down and leavethem alone...don't paint over them withanother color, as they tend to get muddyand chalky looking if overworked.

me number of back and forth strokes on each patch so thatng each one in the same way. You can use more than twentybe consistent.

Staining Quality and Tinting Strength

The staining quality of your pigments is also something you neaware of. This has to do with whether or not the paint can be rdry and blotted or "lifted" lightening the value in some cases twhite paper.

In many cases, paints that are extremely staining are also pighave a lot of tinting strength, which means that they can easilysome colors, and it only takes a small amount of them to makechange in a mixture.

The test for staining is easy. Paint a patch of each color you walabeling the patches as you go with manufacturer name, gradeprofessional), and color name and number. Let the patches drybrush (oil painting brushes work well) wet with clean water. Strtimes* back and forth over a patch. Blot with paper towel or tisthe brush and repeat for each patch you've painted. Comparesamples. Some (like the Winsor & Newton Rose Madder Genuinsamples at left) will lift nearly completely off the paper. Others,Alizarin Crimson by Grumbacher don't come off well at all.

Winsor & Newton has come out with a new medium, called Liftithat you can use to facilitatte lifting any color, regardless of sta

strength.

If you like to be able to lift out whites or lighten areas apaint is dry, you need to use paints that don't stain hea


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ry Quality

e is another paint quality you need to know about. Sediment.s made from finely ground pigment (color) particles plusally gum arabic. Depending on what material is used for these particles can be heavy or light. When you thin them with

aints that have heavier particles will tend to separate from thender and "sink" quickly onto the paper surface. You can evenpening right in your palette. Manganese blue is a very good pigment that is very sedimentary. When you mix thesepaints with a color that is non-sedimentary (or has lightert stay suspended in water better), the mixtures will tend to, with the heavy particles sinking and the lighter colorng in the remainder of the wash. There is a demo of this on mysing sedimentary pigments).

ediment, you need to make a half inch patch of a color on yourhen fill your brush with water and quickly extend the patch toh or more. Then tip the paper back and forth so that therun from the more saturated part of the patch into the more

wn part. You can tip the paper back and forth a couple of times.mple dry, and repeat for each color you want to test. When the

dry, some of them will look much "grainier" more mottledn the lower portion of the patch, and some will just lookue but smooth. The ones with the most mottled, grainy lookwith sediment or heavy pigment particles. In my sample,

ht, only the Winsor & Newton Rose Madder Genuine, and theRose (Holbein) had any appreciable sediment.

What it means: Paints with a lot of sediment should notfor layering or glazing, as they tend to lift, anchalky or muddy looking if overpainted and o

From Sketchbook to Paper:Enlarging Your Ideas

I strongly encourage my students to get in the habit of using a sketchbook...not only for planningwatercolor paintings, but also for recording thoughts and ideas about painting, about your subjects,about your feelings, about anything that may help you discover your own voice in painting. Learning tobe technically proficient just requires dedication to the PRACTICE OF PAINTING. Learning to speak with

your own voice through your painting is an ongoing process, and your sketchbook/diary can help youfind the recurring patterns in the things you respond to and want to paint, and in how yourexperiences, education, and feelings contribute to your interpretation of your subjects. If you aren't inthe sketchbook habit, get one (or two...keep one in your car), and then use it!

In no time, you will have lots of ideas that can be worked up into finished paintings. To help me edit

my observations or imaginings, I have made several templates from scrap watercolor paper (you coulduse matboard pieces too), that are scaled down versions of 1/2 sheet and full sheet watercolor paper.If you have other favorite sizes of paper you regularly use, you can make themplates for these too. Onthe templates, I've made "tic" marks to divide the templates into a grid. I keep these templates tuckedinto an envelope glued to the inside back covers of my sketchbooks, so that they're always handy.


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I begin my planning / thinking bytracing around the edges of atemplate onto a page of mysketchbook, and making matchingtic marks around the edges so thatI will know where to draw the gridlines after the sketch is worked up.

The photo above shows what someof these templates look like. Youcan use a calculator to figure outdifferent scale measurements foryour templates.

I use the smaller templates forquick thumbnails...often to play

around with preliminary simplevalue patterns. (above). Then Iwill use a larger template tomake a more complete drawing,with a more detailed valuepattern.This page from one ofmy sketchbooks shows the ticmarks in place before the grid isdrawn over the sketch.

Below is a photo I took in myfront yard. This is one of myfavorite places to relax...thetable sits under a hugemesquite tree, there areinteresting cactus to look at,birds singing, and hummingbirdsvisiting the feeder that hangsfrom one of the tree branches.

When I'm enlarging, I note where major lines ofmy sketch intersect the grid lines, and mark thoseintersections with dots in the corresponding placeon my watercolor paper grid.

For

example, taking the top upper left section of mysketch (shaded in pink, left), you can see that theline which represents the top of the brick patio

I drew around a full sheet template to begin my sketch.When I was happy with the drawing, I connected the tic

marks to make a grid over my drawing (left). At thispoint, I was ready to enlarge the drawing onto mystretched watercolor paper.

I first divided my watercolor paper into a grid, makingvery light pencil lines with a 6B pencil. This grid has thesame number of sections as the grid drawn over mysketch.

I look at one section of the grid in my sketchbookdrawing, beginning in the upper left corner, and drawwhat I see in that section into thecorresponding (but larger) section onmy watercolor paper. When the first

section is enlarged, I go onto the nextadjacent section, working from left toright, top to bottom, one section at atime until the drawing is enlarged. Iwill then make any additions orcorrections I want to the drawingbefore I start painting. In the photo(above right), you can see a couple ofmy grid lines as well as unpaintedparts of the painting.

This is a simple, quick and easy way to get your ideasfrom your sketchbook to your painting surface, and inaddition, it is good visual training for your eye and mind.

The photo below shows the painting in progress.


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wall intersects the right grid line a little above thehalf way point from top to bottom. The red ticmarks represent the visual quarter points and halfway points that I visualize on each section of thegrid to help me establish the points of reference Ineed (blue dots) as I enlarge the drawing. Thecurved edge of the tree shape starts about aquarter of the way across from left to right andends a little more than 5/8 of the way across. I

continue this visual "measuring" for each gridsection, adjusting as needed.

There are other ways to enlarge your sketches.

If you have a scanner and a computer, you canscan your sketch, pull it into an image editingprogram, enlarge it to be the same size as thewatercolor paper you want to use, print it out as a"tiled" image, reassemble the tiled pieces, andthen use transfer paper between the computerassemblage and your watercolor paper. You thentrace over your computer enlargement, and the

transfer paper will transfer your drawing to yourwatercolor paper.

Some artists also use an opaque projector toenlarge their sketches onto their watercolorpaper; others take slides of their sketches andthen project the slide onto their watercolor paperto enlarge it. Use whatever method works best foryou.

Topic: Creating Three-Dimensional Form with ValueIn order to keep the objects we paint from looking flat, we need to create the illusion of three

dimensional shape and form. One of the ways to do this is with value changes from light to dark.Observation helps us decide where the light source is, and how the light hits the objects. Once weknow where the lights and darks are, we have some choices as to how to create those value changes

in watercolor.

Wet-into-wet (left) and Glazing or Layering (right):

The wet-into-wet sample on the left uses three values of green, beginning with the lightest, then,the middle value is added while the first color is still damp, and finally, the darkest value is added.

This gives a "softer" form, and might be used in background objects where sharp focus is notwanted.

The second sample (on the right) requires a bit more patience, as you must wait for each layer ofcolor to dry completely before adding the next "glaze" or layer of color. As in the first sample,begin with the lightest value of green and establish the entire shape of the object. When this isdry, paint on the middle value where needed, and again wait for this to dry. Finally, add thedarkest value to complete the form. This can be fairly detailed if you want it to be, and is usefulfor foreground or midground objects. If you are in a hurry and can't wait for things to dry on theirown, invest in a small hair dryer which is helpful (especially in humid climates) in drying paintpassages in a short amount of time.


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.

It works on manmade objects too...

In the three pots shown (left), I used the same methodsdemonstrated above for creating for form of the terracotta pot. The top sample was done using the glazing

method on dry paperthat is, separate layers ofsuccessively darker values were applied to dry paintlayers until the form was established.

In the second sample, I used a partly wet approach.Look at the bottom of the pot where it "dissolves" intothe background, and you'll see where the paper wasstill partly wet when another darker value was added.Where you see hard, sharply defined edges betweencolors, you know the paper was dry because the colorsdidn't run or merge together.

Finally, the bottom sample was painted using the "wet-into-wet" approach. This takes a little practice to know

how wet or damp the paper should be before anothercolor is added, but it wlways starts with the lightest,least saturated wash of each color, and ends with thedarkest, most saturated washes. And of course,wherever you want definition along the edge of anobject, you either have to wait for the paper to dry, orpaint very carefully (as I did in this sample) leaving atiny white unpainted bit of paper showing between oneshape and another (in this case between the pot edgeand the background color).

Topic: Creating and Regaining WhitesIn traditional watercolor painting, white is obtained from the white of the watercolor paper

rather than from using a white opaque pigment.If you want to keep to the traditional way of painting in watercolor,

here are three ways to get white areas in your painting.

.The tree trunk, grass and part

of the fence were leftunpainted, allowing the white

of the paper to show andcreate the shapes.

PAINTING AROUND the white areas

This approach requires pre-planning...a light pencilsketch will do...so that you know where the white

areas are. Then you simply and carefully paint aroundthose areas, leaving the white paper showing. If thepaper is dry, you will have hard, sharply definededges (as shown here). If the paper is damp, the

pigment will spread more, giving you soft edges.Practice will help you anticipate how far the paint willspread on damp paper, so that you will still havewhite left even after the paint expands.


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The tree trunk, grass and partof the fence were scraped outwhile the paint was still damp

but not running wet.

SCRAPING OUT the white areas

In this technique, you use the angled end of a plastic-handled aquarelle brush, a piece of an old plasticcredit card, or even a stiff piece of matboard toscrape your whites out of a damp passage of paint.This approach requires perfect timing. If the paint is

too dry you will not be able to scrape back to thewhite paper, and if the paint is too wet, it will runback into your scraped areas. Practice this until youget the feel of how damp the paint passage needs tobe.

Lifting out whites is possible,

as shownhere, but a true white can only

be gainedif you've used a non-staining

pigment.

LIFTING OUT the white areas

Sometimes you just need a white (or light) area thatyou haven't planned for in advance. All is not lost!

Use clean water and a clean brush to wet the pigmentwhere you want to regain a white or light area. Letthe clean water sit on the paint for 30 seconds or sountil it can soften the paint. Then blot firmly with atissue or paper towel. You can repeat this procedureto further lighten an area. If you have used a non-staining pigment, you can usually get a near whiteusing this method.

Finally, it is possible (on a heavy watercolor paper of 140 lb.weight or more) to sand, erase andotherwise rough up paint areas to lighten them.You can even cut a stencil using mylar or acetate if you

need to sand or erase and want a precise shape. Using an ink eraser will take off even stainingpigments, but you can only do this on a good grade of watercolor paper. Otherwise you may get holes!

Topic: How Color Value & Intensity Influences DominanceMost successful paintings have an area of dominance or a focal point. This area stands

out from the rest of the painting because the artist has arranged or orchestratedthe color values, hues, and intensities in such a way that their contrast with

the surrounding areas draws attention.

When everything is equal in value and intensity,nothing stands out.

In this first example, everything is competing for ourattention because every object and section of the

painting is approximately equal in value and intensity.Our eyes don't know where to "land" or focus, becauseeach area of the painting demands equal attention.

Now look at the second example. Where does your eyeend up? Where does it return to over and over, evenafter exploring all of the painting?

If you said "the barn" you would be right! Here theintense red of the barn contrasts with the relative"dullness" or lowered intensities of the other colors, sothat the barn becomes the focal point or the dominant

element in the painting. If you want to use colorintensity to create dominance, remember to use the"purest" color you can (i.e. not mixed with any othercolor).


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.

In the third example, I dulled or lowered the intensityof the colors in the background of the painting,including the barn, and intensified the colors in theforeground, so that it pulls our attention to the grassyarea at the bottom right area next to the road.

These color values are also lighter and warmer, andgenerally, lighter warmer colors will pull foreward andattract more attention than darker cooler ones.

Finally, look at the last example. What is the dominantarea or focal point here? If you said the sky area youwould be correct again.

This is accomplished by making the sky the purestmost intense color, and also the area with the mostcontrast in value. The colors in the rest of the paintinghave all been dulled or lowered in intensity. How doyou lower intensity (or dull) a color? By mixing it withits complementary color. (see the color mixing tip, orgo to www.handprint.com for information on colorcomplements)

Topic: Painting with a Limited Palette of ColorsYou've probably noticed when you went shopping for watercolor pigments that there are a LOT ofavailable colors. If you've taken a workshop or a class, you've found that most teachers have their

"favorite" palette of colors as well. How do you choose? My advice is to begin with a small number ofcolors, experiment with those until you are thoroughly familiar with what each pigment can do by itself

and in mixtures with the other hues. Then, add a few more colors to your palette, and continue yourexperiments. Eventually, you'll find a group of colors that will give you the results you want for the

type of painting you do.

The little painting below was done entirely with just three pigments:permanent blue, Winsor yellow and alizarin crimson (all byWinsor & Newton).

All three of these pigments are "cool" leaningthat is, the red has abluish cast rather than a yellowish cast; the yellow, although aclean clear hue, still leans slightly toward green rather thanorange; the blue is a violet blue rather than a greenish blue.

UPDATE:Since I initially didthis tip, we've learneda lot about thelightfastness (or not!)of various tubewatercolors. Seewww.handprint.comfor LOTS ofinformation about thepigments used inwatercolor paints.

Traditional AlizarinCrimson is notlightfast. Today, Iwould (and you shouldtoo) find an AlizarinCrimson substitutethat is permanent.Look for a color thatcontains Pigment Red122 (PR122) or acombination of PRN/A+PR206, or evenPV15 or PV19. Somepossible choices are:

Winsor & Newtonpermanent alizarincrimson #466,Rembrandt permanentmadder lake #336 orSchmincke madderred dark #354 or
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Daniel SmithQuinacridone Red.

Also, permanent blueis no longer made byWinsor & Newton. UseGraumbacher Finestultramarine blue(permanent blue)

#219 instead, orDaniel Smithultramarine blue.Finally, you couldsubstitute DanielSmith Hansa YellowLight, or Winsor &Newton transparentyellow #653 or Winsorlemon #772 for theWinsor yellow orpermanent yellowlemon.

The three pigments arealso very intensethat is,highly saturated so thatit takes very little actualpigment to affectanother color whenmixed together. They arealso all stainingpigments, which meansthey cannot be re-wettedand easily lifted off thepaper once they are dry.

Because of this, youhave to plan ahead forthe pure white areas andremember to paintaround them or protectthem with liquid maskingfluid as you work. Finally,in terms of pigmentcharacteristics, thispalette of colors as awhole is semi-transparent, with alizarincrimson being the mosttransparent, and the

permanent yellow lemonbeing the leasttransparent.When youlook at the color wheel Ipainted using thesethree pigments, you cansee that mixtures of theyellow and blue result infairly clear greens, butthat they are somewhatopaque (because of theyellow). Likewise themixtures of alizarin andyellow give clean

oranges, that becomemore slightly moreopaque as they movetoward the yellow. Themixtures of the alizarinand the permanent blueresult in clear,


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transparent violets.When it comes toneutrals, this palette iscapable of mixing a widerange of them, fromsaturated darks (using allthree pigments), towarm or cool grays(using different

Topic: Using Value Contrasts EffectivelyValue contrasts are critical to successful watercolor paintings. Using a full range of values is

sometimes difficult for beginning painters, because watercolor pigments dry lighter than they lookwhen wet, and because too little pigment is used when mixing. Why are value contrasts so important?Because they help structure the painting, establish a center of interest, and lead the viewer into and

around the painting in an interesting, orchestrated and planned way. Value patterns also help describeforms, and tell us where the light is coming from. Finally, value contrasts help create the illusion of

distance (depth) in our paintings.How well are you using value contrasts? Here's a tip. Take some of your paintings (or color photos ofthem) and have black and white photocopies made of them. If you are loosing many of your forms, or

if everything looks nearly the same shade of gray, then you probably need to focus a little more onvalue contrasts.

Mixing darker values of colors (shades) is not as straightforward. You can add black to many pigmentsto darken them, but in some cases, this creates surprising results (particularly with yellows which turn

green when black is added to them). A way to darken some hues successfully is to add a little of theircomplementary color, or another pigment in the same family that is inherently darker in value. Yellowscan be darkened with browns. See the examples below.


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Demonstrated in the samples at the left arehi-key values (top), low-key values (middle)and full value range (bottom).

Note how both the hi-key and low-keypaintings seem flatter than the one withthe full range of values. That's becausethey lack contrast. All of the values arevery similar.

In the bottom painting, each object hasbeen painted using changes in value fromdark to light. As a result, this gives both theindividual objects 3-dimensional form, butalso adds depth to the painting. Finally oureye tends to focus on the lightest valueswhere they juxtapose the darkest values (inthe center of the painting).

In more complex paintings like the one at the right,value patterns of light and dark help lead your eye

through the painting. Note how the lightest valuesmake a loose "S" shape beginning with the lightclouds in the upper right, going down and left behindthe tree trunks, then right and down over the rockforms, and then curving left and running along thebottom. While all these lights aren't actuallyconnected, their contrast with the surrounding valueshelp them create the "S" movement. Squint at thepainting and you will see what I mean.

Spring Celebration, 1993 Ellen Fountain12" x 7", watercolor on paper

In this sample, value contrasts notonly create form, but also capture the"mood" I wanted for this piece...a graywinter day, with bright patches of sunon dried grass and foliage.

Winter Light, 1993 Ellen Fountain4" x 9.5", watercolor on paper

Topic: Textural Effects for Watercolor PaintingWatercolor is a wonderfully versatile medium, and you can change its look quite easily with additivesand other materials to give it a more textural appearance. The samples below demonstrate some of


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these textural effects. Some work better with staining pigments, or with pigments that have sediment.Experiment with the pigments you are currently using, and then give them a try in your next painting!

ALCOHOL

Dropped into a damp washof a single staining

pigment. Timing is critical;if the wash is too wet, thealcohol will be diluted toomuch. If it is too dry, the

effect won't work.

ALCOHOL

Dropped into first wash ofgold, then color allowed todry. Second wash of greenapplied and alcohol added

into this second wash

ALCOHOL

Dropped into a damp washof a single non-stainingpigment. See the first

alcohol comment for tipsabout how damp the washshould be for this effect to

work successfully.

SALT

Sprinkled into a wet (stillshiny) wash of burnt sienna.

Note how much the salt"spreads" here.

.

SALT

Sprinkled into a damp washwith a more saturated

pigmentation, the salt textureis not as large.

SALT

In this sample, the washwas barely damp, and the

texture from the salt isquite fine.

BLOTTING & LIFTING

Crumpled paper towel (left)and twisted facial tissue

(right) are used to lift colorand create texture in these

two samples.

This technique can also beused to regain light or

white areas in yourpainting.

ERASING WITH STENCILS

The three pointed shape wascut from acetate, and then an

eraser was used to removecolor. You could also use a

damp sponge over a stencil tolift color. In both cases theunderlying wash should be

absolutely dry.

SANDING

On a completely dry wash,you can use a light grade

of sandpaper to "roughen"the surface and remove

color. You should only dothis on 140lb. or heavier

good watercolor paper, oryou may end up with

holes!


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.

WAX (Paraffin) & CRAYON

Clear wax drawn on white paper or onpreviously painted and completely drywashes acts as a resist to subsequent

washes, and also adds texture as it goesover the rough surface of the watercolor

paper.

LIQUID FRISKIT (Masking Fluid)

Depending on the brush you use to applyit, the surface of the paper you are using,

and when you apply it (on unpaintedpaper or dry washes of color), liquid friskit

can create small details or interestingtextures. Remember to remove the dryfriskit as soon as possible, because itbecomes more difficult to get off thelonger it stays on your paper surface.

.

PLASTIC WRAP, STRETCHED

This is an interesting way to texture landforms, ice or water. Stretch the plastic

wrap sideways, forming folds, then lay intoa wet wash. Allow to dry. When removed,

you'll have a great texture!

PLASTIC WRAP, CRUMPLED

In this sample, the wrap is crumpled andlaid into a wet wash, where it is allowed to

remain until the wash has dried. Whenremoved, the texture of the crumpled wrap

remains.

.

WAX PAPER, CUT OR TORN INTO SHAPES

Wax paper can provide wonderful texturesfor rocks, leaves or other natural objects.You can cut or tear it into the shapes you

want and lay it into a damp wash.Additional color can be introduced underthe edges. Allow to dry and then remove

from the painting.

WAX PAPER, CRUMPLED

In this sample, was paper was justcrumpled up, then smoothed out enough to

place over a wet wash. Allowed to dry inplace, it will leave a nice texture when

removed. You can weight it down with abook if you want more of the surface to

contact your painting paper.

.

SCRAPING

Use the angled end of your aquarellebrush, a piece of an old credit card, or

even a piece of matboard to scrape paintoff the surface of your paper. This needs tobe done on a damp, not wet (shiny) wash.If you do it too soon, the paint just runs

back into the scraped area.

SCRATCHING

Use the end of your paintbrush, a nail, apaper clip or any other hard object to

scratch (make a groove or dent in) yourpaper while the wash is still quite wet. Thepigment will settle in the scratches, dryingdarker, and giving you interesting textured

passages.


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Topic: Exploring Sedimentary Watercolor Pigments

If you've been painting long, you've undoubtedly noticed that when you are mixing different pigmentcolors some seem "grainier" than others, and some mix together well, while others seems to separateout in mixtures. Some pigments flow evenly and smoothly over your paper, while others really have to

be pushed around!

What's going on here? It's simply

sedimentary!

The materials (natural or synthetic) used tomanufacture the various artist watercolorpigments have different characteristics, andone of these characteristics is the tendencyof particles of paint to settle out of the waterand binder materials in the paint. We callthis settled out matter sediment.

Some watercolor painters don't care forsedimentary pigments because they are alittle more difficult to use; they don't make

smooth, evenly graduated washes for example (they streak), and some of them are quite opaque, and

if used heavily can look chalky and dull. Butif you are aware of what they can and can't do, they canbe wonderful additions to your palette.

If you don't know which of your tube colors are sedimentary, you can conduct your own tests. Thepaper you use for these tests influences the result. The sediment is easier to see on cold press orrough paper, since there are depressions in the paper surface to capture the particles of paint, butyour results can be deceiving, because the depressions simply capture and hold more paint, not justpaint particles. If you use hot press paper you will have a truer test because the sediment will showup even without paper depressions to capture it. Here's how to do your sediment tests:

Fully saturate your brush tip with thecolor you want to testin this case I

used Cobalt Violet / PV14and painta 1/2"x1/2" square with this fullysaturated mixture. Now take cleanwater, a full brushload, and touchthe bottom edge of the square whileit's still wet. Pull the clean waterdown about an inch from the bottomof the square. Tilt your paper and letthe water run into the square, thentilt it back the other way, and let thepaint run into the clear water area.

You can do this several times. Letyour sample dry. My example waspainted on cold press paper.

Here are some other sedimentarypigments for you to experiment with.

Green Earth / PG23 (opaque)

Cobalt Green / PG19 (transparent)

Manganese Blue / PB33 (transparent)

Cerulean Blue / PB35 (opaque)

Manganese Violet / PV16 (opaque)

Burnt Umber / PBr7 (opaque)

Cadmium Orange / PO20 (opaque)

Burnt Sienna / PBr7 (transparent)

Below are sediment tests of two blues and two violets on hot press paper. Notice the difference insediment between a pigment like Winsor Violet (actually a blend of two violet pigments, PV23 andPV19) and the Cobalt Violet. The Winsor Violet is smooth, brushes out evenly and the tilting of thepaper as you do the test blends the color fairly evenly over the test area. Compare this to the cobaltviolet, which is grainier, and uneven where the heavier particles settle out in the mix. Similar resultsare seen in the comparison of the Phthalo blue (no sediment) and the Manganese Blue (lots ofsediment)


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So, what can you do with these heavier, sedimentary pigments? Take advantage of the fact that theywill tend to stay put once they are on your paper, even when you paint over them. One of my favoritethings to do with them is to use them to create shadows (in folds of fabric for example).

"On a Clear Day, You Can See the Clear Cuts"

Fabricscape SeriesWatercolor on Paper, 22"x15" image

In this painting, a checkers board and Monopolyhouses represent a town as seen from the air. The

blue and red-brown checked fabric was suggestedby infrared satellite photos which show vegetatedand barren areas as colored patches. Photos taken

over Oregon clearly show the clearcut areas incontrast to those areas with trees still standing.

In the detail (below) I used ManganeseBlue to create soft shadows in an Aureolin

Yellow wash. While the wash was stilldamp, I brushed in the shadow areas.Because the manganese pigment is soheavy, it doesn't spread very far, so youdon't risk losing highlight areas, as youmight if using a phthalo blue or someother non-sedimentary pigment.

If you're wondering about the small flowerpattern, It was created using two differentstamps that I hand-cut from pieces of pinkpearl eraser. The stamps are "inked" froma heavily saturated mix of the color youwant to stamp with. By protecting edgeswith wax paper as you stamp, you caneven make the stamped design seem todisappear inside a fold of fabric.


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In the second detail from the painting (at right), Iused the manganese with a light red wash ofQuinacridone Violet and Cadmium Red Light.

I find these colored shadows are much more exciting

visually than if I had mixed some unremarkable graycolor, or even a darker value of the local color of thefabric. In addition, the sediment lends a texturalquality, which is an added bonus when paintingfabrics.

Wondering about the letter-number combinations following the pigment names? Those areshorthand for Color Index Namesthe precise pigment colorants used to manufacture watercolors.As a result of Michael Wilcox's groudbreaking work on the permanency of various watercolors*,most manufacturers have begun adding this information to their labels. This is important! A trade

name like SAP GREEN doesn't tell you what's in that tube of paint. But, having the Color IndexName(s) on the tube would tell you that Winsor & Newton's SAP GREEN is a fugitive color (thatmeans it will fade quickly) because it's made of PG12 and PY100, and that you'd be better offpurchasing Grumbacher's or Da Vinci's versions of SAP GREEN because both of them are madewith more reliable pigments (PG7 & PO49, or PG7 & PY42 respectively).

*If you are concerned about the permanency of the materials you use to create your work, thenyou need to inform yourself about which paints/pigments are lightfast and which are not.Handprint.comhas the best information on pigments available. Click this link and then look forinstructions on how to test your paints.

Another fun thing to do with these heavy pigments is to "drop" some into a wet wash of a lighter-bodied pigment. In Barbara Nechis' book, WatercolorThe Creative Experience, she calls hervariation of this process an "oozle", and she gets very interesting effects in her semi-abstract paintings

by starting with very wet paper, and dropping transparent and opaque pigments onto it. She thenlooks at these spontaneous shapes and then develops the painting depending on what the shapessuggest to her.

I take her division of pigments even further, because all opaque pigments aren't sedimentary, andsome sedimentary pigments are transparent (see my list above for examples), and you will getdifferent results depending on whether your pigment is staining, non-staining or somewhereinbetween.
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"Watching Oozles Trapped in a Wash"Fabricscape SeriesWatercolor on Paper, 15"x22" image

In this painting, two plastic pigs from the game of Pigmania, lookover a ribbon fence at a wash (in our part of the country, a

usually dry creekbed).When I was a kid in Lewiston, Idaho, we lived across the street

and up the embankment from the river, and my Mom was alwayswarning us not to play there, because of the dangerous currents

in the river. For the longest time, I thought currents weresomething alive that lived in the river. When I read Barbara

Nechisdescription of oozles (which sound like living things tome), I just had to do this painting...

Sedimentary pigments can be usedto create oozles (or you can comeup with your own name for thesespontaneous shapes).

Below is one example. Into a verywet patch of Aureolin Yellow (non-staining and transparent), I droppedManganese Blue (touched the pointof a saturated brush to the paper).Some of the blue (the lighter partsof the pigment and binder) spreadrapidly out into the yellow, while theheaviest particles stayed rightwhere my brush tip touched thepaper. You can manipulate thissomewhat by tilting your paper.

Babrara Nechis' favoritecombination for making oozles (herterm) is Van Dyke Brown Umber andPermanent Blue. She mixes thesetogether slightly before placingblobs of the mixture on very wet

paper.

In the detail (right) from my painting, I had a very wet, mediumvalue wash of phthalo blue and phthalo green, into which Idropped Burnt Sienna and Cobalt Violet, and tipped the paper alittle to let the shapes spread out towards the right. When thisdried completely, I added some linear curved lines in a darkerblue-green to suggest movement in the water, but that canalso be read as decorative patterns on a piece ofwatercoloredfabric.

Topic: Using Stencils with Watercolor

The Pattern & Decoration movement in the seventies definitely hadan influence on my work. Miriam Shapiro was one of the mainproponents of this movement and her works are full of patterning.My love of sewing and of working with those wonderful patternedfabrics probably made it inevitable that my paintings would be filledwith patterns and representations of fabrics. One of the ways I putdesigns on the fabrics I paint is with stencils. The painting at theright, Casting Among Pearls, is a perfect example. The mountainshapes of fabric in the background utilize stencilled-on patterns.

Stencils are simply a way of masking part of your painting to keeppaint from going where you don't want it to go. Almost anything canbe used for a stencil. You can buy ready-made ones and experimentwith them, you can use a piece of lace fabric (spray it first with clear


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acrylic to keep it from absorbing the paint), you can make your own stencils from stencil paper(available at art stores), clear plastic file folders, or just wax paper if you only need a one-use stencil.

For this simple exercise in using stencils, you will need a piece of stencil paper, wax paper or a pieceof clear mylar or plastic (I use clear plastic file folders available at an office supply store). You will alsoneed a small sheet of watercolor paper, and an old toothbrush.

STEP ONE:

Select threecolors (I usedcobalt violet,cerulean blueand lemonyellow). Wetyour paper allover until it isshiny, then dropthe three colorsrandomly ontothe papersurface. Tilt yourpaper a bit if youwant to blendthe colorsslightly. Try tokeep some whitepaper.

Let this wet-in-wet background dry thoroughly. While you're waiting for it to dry, you can create yourstencil. For this practice lesson, we're going to use both the positive and negative parts of the stencilthe positive part is the shape you cut out, and the negative part is the "hole" left in the remainingstencil paper. To create your stencil, draw one continuous line to create your shape. This can be alandscape shape (as mine is for this exercise), or something more abstract. Let your imagination loose,

and create a fabulousinteresting continuousline! Once you've got theline drawn copy it to yourstencil paper and place itabout in the middle. Thencarefully cut along yourline, using an x-acto knifeor a very sharp pointedpair of scissors.Remember you're goingto cut the stencil just asyou drew it...in onecontinuous line. Theimage at left shows bothparts of the stencil. Thenegative shape is on top,and the positive shape ison the bottom. I leftsome of the paint onthese stencils so thatthey would show up onthe white paper, but theyare translucent, so youcan move them aroundon your dried

underpainting and decide where to place them before you start spattering on the paint.

The next step is to place either the positive or negative piece of your stencil over your underpainting.Move it around until you like where it is. I usually look at the underpainting and decide what passagesof paint I want to keep (i.e. not cover with more paint), and place my stencils accordingly. For the Step

Two, I used the negative shape first, placed it towards the bottom of the painting, and then used moreof my cerulean blue and cobalt mixed together to spatter on paint over the stencil and onto the paper.


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The technique of spattering is one I like using withstencils because it allows you to layer paint withoutworrying about lifting any color you already have on thepaper (since you are adding paint via gravity instead ofwith a brush), and because it imparts a textural quality to

the painting. Hold the toothbrush in one hand, with yourthumb on top, bristles down and the toothbrush pointeddown at the paper. I use a small paintbrush handle todrag across the bristles. Drag the handle from the front ofthe toothbrush towards the back. Your hand motion willbe towards you. This seems backward, but isn't if youthink about what is happening. You are applying pressureto the bristles, and as the handle passes, the bristlesspring back into position and in the process fling tinydroplets of paint onto your paper.

STEP TWO:

Here you seethe negativestencil piece onthe dryunderpainting.Because thestencil is clear,you can seethrough it to

place itcorrectly. Youcan hold it inplace withweights or paperclips. Spatter onyour paint alongthe edges of thestencil.


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STEP TWO: (detail)

When the stencil (top area) is moved, the areawhere you spattered the paint shows clearly.

When you finish spattering, lift the stencil carefullyoff the paper, and remove excess paint by blottingit on a paper towel (or rice paper if you're a collageperson...the blots make great collage papers!)

Now, use the other positive part of the stencil, orreuse the negative part but in a different place.Spatter on some more paint.

Here you can see the positive part of the stencil (it looks kindof a blurry gray at the edge of the photo) after stencilling overit with cobalt violet. When you use the positive shape, what isbeneath will be protected and the surrounding area receivesthe spattered paint.

This is just the opposite of what happens with the negativepiece. When you use the negative part, the spatter paint

creates the shape, and the background is protected by thestencil.

Deciding which stencil piece to use, and where to use it is halfthe fun of this exercise.

FINISHING UP:

Here's the finishedexercise. You can seeI used both stencilparts more than once.I also did somespattering in theupper left corner totone down the lightarea there, so that thefocal point is the

yellow area in thecenter right.


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Compare the finished piece with the underpainting, and you will see what adjustments I made to thecolor values after and during the stencilling process. Since our eyes see light and bright before theysee dark and dull, I wanted the movement of the piece to go from the lower left corner in a gentle "S"curve up to the upper right corner. This is an abstract approach to watercolor, but it's a fun way tointroduce yourself to stencilling. Once you get the "hang" of using stencils, you'll discover lots moreways to use them.

In my fabricscape pieces, I do a controlled underpainting of the fabric piece, including all the shadows.This is allowed to dry. Then I use wax paper to cut masks that follow the edges of folds, or the edge ofone fabric where it butts up against another one. With these masks in place, I can expose just the partof the painted fabric that I want to add a stencilled pattern to. It takes time to stencil on designs thisway, a section at a time, but the end result is very effective.

Topic: Spacial Emphasis in Reference Photos

Many watercolor painters use reference photos and/or sketches to work from when they are gatheringinformation about a subject they want to paint. I'm no exception. I have thousands of slides and printsI have taken over the years that provide inspiration for subject matter, and jog my memories of aparticular place and time. I learned over the years to always err on the side ofmore rather than lesswhen taking reference photos and doing sketches. That way, I always have plenty of information whenI actually get ready to do a final drawing in preparation to paint. And, it also allows me to decide laterwhether I want to give emphasis to the foreground, middleground or background. So, when I takephotos, I take a wide, faraway view, a closer but still wide view, and then I zoom in, walk around, andtake detail photos of more intimate parts of my subject. In my sketchbook, I will also do quick

sketches, details of the subject or parts of it, with color notations, and write notes on what I wasattracted to about the particular scene.

Emphasis: Background

This is a farm in Northern Arizona. Inthis view, the feeling here isisolation. Note the distance from theroad and the single mailbox. If Idecided to paint this, I wouldprobably tip the road up a bit so we

could see it curving behind themailbox, and then show it (muchsmaller) going up that distant hill tothe farm buildings.

Whether you choose to emphasize foreground, middleground or background is influenced by yourfeelings about the subject, and what you want to convey to your viewer. Instances where you mightchoose to emphasize the background would be subjects where you wanted to establish a sense ofgrandeur, a sense of scale (the smallness of man in nature), or simply to play up the depth of field.

Emphasis: Middleground

Let's go back to our farm, and seewhat a middle ground emphasis

might look like. Here I've moved incloser to the farm, and now in the

middleground, we see some cattle.We still have the rustic farm

buildings, and old machinery, but thecows add a "living" element to the

scene and make this view a little lesslonely feeling.

Emphasizing the middleground is probably the most common choice among landscape painters, withbackground emphasis a close second. They are not the only choices, however. Often when you wanderaround your chosen subject for a while, you will discover a more uncommon view of it, or a person oranimal will come into view giving you that "perfect" something to make a great watercolor.


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Emphasis: foreground

Here's one possibility for emphasizing somepart of this farm scene relatively closeup. Thisold flatbed truck was parked just off the roadin the field. You can see it just to the right of

center in the first farm photo. Nicely rusted, itcould make an interesting painting.

Emphasis: intimate foreground

Don't overlook the little things!Spotting movement on the porch ofthe farm, I discovered tin cans withsmall seedlings in them. A littlevisitor had found that the moist dirtwas a perfect spot to cool off on ahot summer day. Patience and atelephoto lens got me a referencephoto that would make a charmingwatercolor painting!

I took these photos inPuerto Peasco, Sonora,Mexico. A ship had

wrecked in the Gulf ofCalifornia, and its remainswere washed up on thebeach. This point of viewestablishes a sense ofscale, and thedesolateness of the place,but it's hard to tell fromthis distance that it's awrecked ship.

Moving in on the subjectand emphasizing themiddle ground will make abetter watercolor. We stillget the distant shorelinefor scale purposes, butnow we can tell whatwe're looking at. Thewaves in the foregroundform visual lines thatpoint us toward theshipwreck, as does theline between water andland in the distance.

In short, analyze your subject and decide what you want to say about it, and then choose your spacialemphasis to help you say visually what you have in mind. Take another look at your reference photosand see if they offer any new ideas. Happy painting!


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Choosing a Palette of Colors

With the hundreds of colors available to watercolor painters from so many different manufacturers, itcan sometimes be overwhelming to choose a palette of colors. Nearly every watercolor book has theauthor's "favored" selection of tube colors, and that can be one way to choose. I get lots of questionsabout the colors I use, and you will find my palette here.

A couple of comments on choosing paints: First, buy the very best you can afford. Many times, lessexpensive or "student grade" watercolors will have so little pigment in them in relation to thebinding/filler agents that you will end up either using more paint to get the level of saturation youwant, or you will simply not be able to get rich saturated colors at all. In addition, in order to makethese paints less expensive, paint manufacturers may use pigments that are not as lightfast as thoseused in the "artist" or "professional" grade paints. That's not always true, so it pays to know whichpigments are being used in the paint color you're considering buying. All the information you need isright on the label, and if it isn't, look for a different brand that is labeled correctly so you know whatyou are buying!

A well-labeled paint tube will tell you everything you need to know. Don't go by the common colorname that the manufacturer usesread the label!

This is the front of a tube of paint from Daniel Smith. It tellsyou the name of the company who made it (like Winsor &Newton, or Holbein, or in this case, Daniel Smith). It saysFinest Watercolors, which probably means that this is"professional" quality paint. Then it gives you the commonname of the color. This sample is Quinacridone BurntScarlet, but another tube might say Cobalt Blue, or LemonYellow. Finally, it tells you how much paint is in the tube.

This can help you determine which size tube is the "betterbuy" if price is a concern.

But....don't stop here. TURN OVER THE TUBE. The stuff youreally need to know is usually on the back!

Somewhere on well-labeled paints (usually on theback), you will find some or all of the followinginformation:The Series number (relates to price and the cost ofingredients),The ASTM (American Society of Testing and Materials)Lightfastness Rating number ( I = excellentlightfastness, and II = very good lightfastness.

You shouldn't consider buying any pigment that doesn'thave a rating of I or II if you care about the longevity ofyour work.)The color index name(s), expressed as Pigment Color

000, or PX000, where X is the first letter of the colorfamily namelike red(PR), blue(PB), yellow(PY),green(PG), etc. In our sample tube shown at the right,the color index name is PR06 (Pigment Red 06), and it'scommon name is Quinacridone Burnt Scarlet.The color index number(s), five digits long, which tellyou the precise chemical composition of the paint color.The vehicle or binder for the pigment, usually gumarabic. Other vehicles or binders may include honey orglycerin.

The single most important piece of informationis the lightfastness rating, but some manufacturersdo their own testing, so even this isn't always reliable.

You should do your own color tests on the paperyou use the most. The color index name (the PY000,or PBOOO) can be looked up in either Michael Wilcox'sbook, The Guide to the Best Watercolor Paints, or HilaryPage's book, Guide to Watercolor Paints.Handprint.comhas the best information on pigments available online.

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http://www.proxysector.net/nph-proxysector.cgi/110110A/http/www.handprint.com/HP/WCL/pigmt3.html#strategyhttp://www.proxysector.net/nph-proxysector.cgi/110110A/http/www.handprint.com/HP/WCL/pigmt3.html#strategyhttp://www.proxysector.net/nph-proxysector.cgi/110110A/http/www.handprint.com/HP/WCL/pigmt3.html#strategy


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Click this link and then look for instructions on how totest your paints.

I chose my particular palette of colors first for their permanence, second for their transparency(because I do a lot of glazing, I prefer the most transparent pigments), and third for their color mixingabilities. Finally, I have a few colors on my palette that I like because of their granularity/sedimentaryqualities in paint mixtures.

Updated November 2004:I have made the following substitutions to my palette, since I am gradually switching over to DanielSmith paints:For Dark Cool, blue-biased Red, I am using Daniel Smith Quinacridone Red (PV19) instead ofWinsor & Newton Permanent Alizarin CrimsonFor Warm, orange-biased Red, I am using Daniel Smith Organic Vermission (PR188) instead ofWinsor & Newton Scarlet LakeFor Warm, orange-biased Yellow, I am using Daniel Smith Hansa Yellow Medium (PY97) instead ofWinsor & Newton Transparent YellowFor Cool, green-biased Yellow, I am using Daniel Smith Hansa Yellow Light (PY3) instead ofGrumbacher Lemon YellowFor A Purple Biased Blue, I am using Daniel Smith ultramarine blue (PB29) instead of Winsor &Newton French Ultramarine BlueFor a Green Biased Blue, I am using Daniel Smith phthalo blue [GS] (PB15) instead of Winsor &Newton "Winsor blue" or Grumbacher thalo blue

The colors on my palette (below) list the common color name and a particular manufacturer. All ofthese pigments have an ASTM lightfastness rating of I or II (most are I). When you look at the colorslisted, you'll see two colors in most cases. The first color listed is what I have on my palette. Thesecond color in ( ) gives you a student grade, less expensive alternate that is still lightfast, andresonably close in hue to the color I prefer. In four instances, I use the student grade paint myselfbecause it is just as good as the "professional grade" (thalo blue, thalo green, yellow ochre, and lemonyellow). In the other instances where only one color is listed, it's because I feel there is no acceptablesubstitute. The exception to this is in the blacks. I only listed one warm black and one cool black, butthere are many manufacturers making ivory and lamp blacks that are perfectly fine.

I have removed all non-lightfast colors from my palette, including Rose Madder Genuine, which was abeautiful but fugitive hue. If you choose to use that pigment, know that Winsor & Newton is the onlymanufacturer that makes a true Rose Madder Genuine paint of quality, but it is NOT lightfast.


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Hard and Soft Edges in Watercolor

Watercolor artists have a great many choices about how to use this versatile medium. One of thedecisions that they can make is how to treat their subject matter. Sometimes a subject simplydemands a wet-into-wet approach with soft, feathery edges that suggest rather than precisely defineobjects. Other times, hard precise edges are chosen. Frequently, the most interesting watercolorpaintings use both kinds of edges to give depth and focus to their subject matter. Let's look at someexamples.


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My Mom has a planterbox that sits on thefloor in front of floor toceiling windows in herliving room. She hasan unusual mix ofplants in it, includingamaryllis andeuphorbia.

Here are two littlestudies I did of thesame subject, oneusing mostly softedges with just a littlelinear line work addedafter the wet in wetwas dry (left), and theother with a wet inwet background whereI painted aroundcarefully drawn plantand flower shapes

(right). The dark areaswere glazed (paintedover) the drybackground.

Fog is a rare sight in the desert, but we do get itnow and then, and when we do, it turns ouralready surreal cactus plants into somethingother-worldly, as they almost seem to floatdisembodied in the mist. This is a perfect subjectfor soft, and "lost" edges.

This little painting, Cholla in the Fog, was workedwet-into-wet, but I carefully avoided wetting thewhite areas. Those white areas are where lightwas striking wet stone surfaces and seemedquite bright, even as all else was subdued. Icharged in some raw umber violet, some greyedpurples, and cobalt violet, as the wet area beganto lose its shine. The cholla were drawn in with arigger brush, and spread enough to suggestthese prickly cactus. A little salt texture wasadded, and the whole allowed to dry.

Desert Symmetry, (right) is typical of most of thepieces in my Southwest Series, in that the plantand bird forms are stylized shapes, filled in withsolid or textured passages of paint, and there are

virtually no soft or lost edges anywhere. Theseworks are intended to be very flat and twodimensional, with a shallow "space".

This hard-edged approach works very well withmy intent for this subject matter, which was tolet my imagination have full reign instead oftreating it representationally.


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Now consider a more representationalpainting, called Under the Hedge. Jelly-Bean, my neighbor's cat, liked tospend hot summer days in the moist,relatively cool and partly shaded dirtunder the hedge in front of their lowpatio wall. Jelly-Bean is gone now, butlives on in this painting. What I likedabout this subject (besides the cat!)was the stark contrast between thedeeply shaded areas and the placeswhere spots of sunlight penetrated theleafy canopy and lit up his fur. Thelight was so bright that you couldn'ttell where the white of the fur stoppedand the sunlit areas of the wall andbackground began. The same thinghappened in the deeply shadowedareas and the dark areas of the cat'sfur. A perfect opportunity to use bothsoft and hard edges, and to let someedges be "lost" (undefined).

In this detail of the cats leg, you cansee what I mean by lost edges. Yousee them where the stripes of his legblend into the dark value of theground, and also along the back edgeof the leg where it is white. There, theedge is lost where it blends into thesun-lit background.

In the case of the back edge of the leg,its simply a matter of not painting thepaper...either on the cat or thebackground. In the case of theforeground and the stripes on the cats

leg, this area was done wet into wet,and the colors allowed to blendtogether so that the hard edge is lost.

Finally, you see more lost edges along the bottom of the catand the dark shadow, some soft wet-in-wet edges along thetransition area from his chest to his sun-lit back, and somehard, well-defined edges where the right profile of his body,which is in shadow, starkly contrasts with the sunlit concreteblock wall. This area of darks was done on dry paperthedarks pulled into the damp mid-gray area of the cat's fur tothe left, where they soften ever so slightly as they get intothe damper area.

To practice these concepts, pick any subject you want, andtry painting it using all (or primarily) wet-into-wet passages,with soft, undefined and/or lost edges, and then try paintingthe same subject again, but using hard edges, much like Idid with the amaryllis paintings at the top of this page.

Topic: Practicing Your Brushwork

Most watercolor paintings are comprised ofwashes, which are large areas of paint put on wet, dampor dry paper usually with a large mop or wide wash brush, and linear or drybrush marks, which are

more like drawing or sketching, and are made with the point, edge or body of round or flat watercolorbrushes. Some painters do work primarily with washes, and some artists choose to use a more linearapproach. There is no "right" or "wrong" approach, but it helps to be comfortable with brushworkbecause it gives you an opportunity to add form, texture and character to your paintings. Brushwork isalmost like writing. Once you have developed a mastery of your brush, your linear marks will be asindividual, effortless and unique as your handwriting.


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Let's take a look at some various kinds of brush marks that you can make using a pointed roundwatercolor brush. I did all these samples with a No.8 brush.

Every mark you make is influenced by (1) howsaturated (wet) the brush is with pigment and(2) how much pressure you apply to the brushas you move it across the paper surface. Thestrokes at the left are dragged strokes, with thewrist kept stationary and the arm moving from

left to right.

For the red strokes, the brush is nearly verticalto the paper, with just the very tip touching thesurface, so that the line is very fine. As morepressure is applied, the line gets thicker.

For the magenta strokes, the whole brush bodyis applied to the paper. The brush is held morehorizontally for this stroke. Note that as thebrush discharges paint and gets dryer, it beginsto skip over the paper surface making ascratchier, highly textured, drybrush mark.

The orange strokes are also dragged strokes,but the arm is moved in a wavy motion, withthe elbow and wrist stationary. Again noticehow lighter pressure, with the brush fullyloaded makes a narrow mark, while heavierpressure and a drier brush creates thescratchier, fatter marks at the bottom.

Drybrush marks are more pronounced on roughsurface paper than on hot press, because of the

hills and valleys in the paper surface.

The curved stroke involves a little wristmovement as you stroke the color onto thepaper. These curved strokes can be convex orconcave, large or small, and made with either afully saturated wet brush or a drier one if

scratchier marks are the goal.

If you use just the point of the brush, curvedstrokes are one way to suggest waves in water.

The curved short stroke is very handy forcreating rounded rocks or pebbles. These markscan be large or small, and with a second layer ofstrokes you can begin to suggest three-dimensional form.

The dabbed stroke has many variations,depending on whether it is made with the tip ofthe round brush or the entire body of the brush.It's very useful for foliage, especially when asecond or third value is added over the dry initial


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dabs of color.

This last sample is made with a stroke that usesthe point of the brush and involves a flick of thewrist. When the point of the brush contacts thepaper, the wrist is flipped upward, causing thepoint to lift off the paper and create a mark that

is wider at the bottom and very small and pointedat the top. Great for suggesting grass, or with abrush so dry that the hairs begin to separate, itcan be used to suggest fur or hair, or very finegrass.

Another influence on the appearance of your brush work ispaper surface. Is it wet, damp or dry? The wetter thepaper is when you make your strokes, the more they willspread and soften. You can use this to your advantagewhen controlling what parts of your painting have the

most focus and detail.

Take a look at the sampler I did below. This took about tenminutes to do, and uses many of the linear marks above.Create your own exercise painting to do using a variety oflinear marks. Don't try to make a masterpiece...these areexercises.Vary the pressure on your brush, and theamount of paint in it; use the point and the body of thebrush, make big and little strokes and lines...in short,experiment with your brush to see what it can do!

Remember to letwashes and brushstrokes dry if youwant to layer morebrush strokes overthem and maintainsharp edges. Ifyour previous dabsare wet, and youmake more dabsover them, thestrokes will mergetogether instead ofmaking a new layerof color.

Notice that the

dabbed strokes Iadded to the wetmountain shape inthe distance areindistinct and soft,while the dabbedstrokes in the treeleaves were put onin three layers,letting each layerdry before dabbingon the next.


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Now take a look at a master of the brush stroke...John Singer Sargent.

Sargent was born in Florence, Italy in 1856. His Americanparents were there for his mother's health. He wasencouraged early to develop his artistic abilities, andbecame a master "plein air painter" taking his watercolorseverywhere he traveled.

This painting is comprised mostly of brush strokes.Sargeant really like

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