Art Month

October is recognized as the official Art Month by many arts organizations.  Visit a local participating art materials retailer for special events and activities.

Watercolor

Watercolor 101

For those who want to experience a painting medium that offers great possibilities, watercolor may be just the hot ticket.  After learning a few basics you will be ready to begin an ever-increasing list of skill-building exercises.  It is through these exercises that you can develop an understanding of what watercolor can do to make your painting experience fulfilling and exciting.

Seldom do you see articles on the extreme basics of painting, but there are some super simple things that can help you achieve a much higher degree of skill.  The first of these is the brush itself…how to hold it, where to grip the handle and what shape might render the line, texture or look you desire.

Many artists hold a brush handle as they would a pencil, i.e., a tight grip just above the ferrule, the metal cap that holds the brush bristles in place.  For very precise lines and strokes, that is a great grip method.  But, if you loosen your grip and hold the brush by the end most distant from the ferrule, you can achieve very fluid, swishing strokes.  This type of grip and hold on the handle will be more applicable to washes and large, less defined areas of the work.  With this grip, you can more easily achieve progressively thick to thin lines, perhaps working back to thick, giving a ribbon-type appearance.  Practice strokes from different places along the handle and see the way the line changes.   You will find a “sweet spot” on the handle that works well for you.

Working with a fully charged brush, you can also experiment with paper that is dry in some areas and wet in others.  This is not the usual way watercolor paper is used.  Traditionally, thick watercolor paper is soaked and  saturated with water, removed and held to shed excess as it runs off, then allowed to mellow and just start to dry.  That even moistness is the surface most watercolorists prefer.  However, working on dry paper allows much sharper detail work and gives a completely different look to the stroke.  Partial dry/wet paper, where there is moisture introduced to only part of the surface, is fun to work on because the texture of the surface changes as you cross the sheet.

Fastening the paper to a flat surface such as a laminate-covered board is very helpful.  The suction of the wet paper on the super flat surface provides a type of “hold” on the paper that allows it to dry super flat rather than pillowed.  In order for the page to hold flat throughout the entire drying process, you must fasten it to the laminate with tacks or tape.  Once the sheet is completely dry, remove the tape and the sheet can be gently lifted from the surface. 

Watercolor paints are designed to be diluted with water.  Use of household water from a well or municipal system can introduce chemicals.  These chemicals (such as chlorine, calcium and salt, etc.) vary from day to day.  You would be much wiser to use distilled water or pure drinking water to minimize the mineral content included with your water-soaked sheet or brush.  When you settle on a size upon which to work, find a tray just a bit larger and use it to soak your sheet in.  That uses less water and, if kept clean, the water can be recycled from sheet to sheet.  Note:  Soak sheets within four hours of use for best dampness control.  But do allow the sheet to mellow before painting.

Color blending is not difficult, but to control the results it is good to keep a small journal of combinations attempted.  This will be a great help when you want to duplicate tones.  Watercolor paints hold well on open plastic tray-type palettes and can be reconstituted with the introduction of water.  Clean your color work area after each session so that you can start with a clean color-combining spot.  Having said that, some of the most interesting colors (though not easily duplicated) occur on dirty, overworked areas of your palette.

Perhaps this article will help you understand some of the tips seldom covered elsewhere; so try them and see what you think.

Copyright ARTtalk Vol. 18 No. 12 — October 2008