The Basics of Watercolor
How to choose paints, brushes, papers, and techniques
Written by Dave Bryant from notes compiled by Christina “Smudge” Hanson
Watercolors were developed during the Renaissance as a portable medium to use in the field for creating studies. Mixing pigment with gum arabic and diluting with water created a medium that is faster to work with and to dry than oil paints. The only medium with a drying time similar to watercolor or gouache is acrylic paint, but acrylics are a much more recent development, invented after the Second World War.
Mixing watercolor paint with zinc or titanium creates gouache, which acts much like acrylic paint but is considered watercolor for the purposes of art competition. Gouache often is used in illustration work.
Brushes
A good watercolor brush retains water well and is soft and resilient, snapping back into shape without “breaking”. Its handle generally will be short and its bristles should be at least fifty percent natural materials. A good example is the Windsor and Newton Sceptre Gold II brush, a sable-synthetic blend. Avoid cheap brushes, as they do not retain water well and their poor-quality points “break” easily.
Many lists provided by university instructors include a three-quarter-inch to one-inch flat brush, a quarter-inch to half-inch flat brush, a #8 to #10 round brush, a #4 round brush, and a #2 liner or “rigger” brush (so called because it often was used to paint sail rigging on nautical artwork). “Smudge” uses a smaller selection—a one-inch flat brush, a #12 round brush, #4 round brush, and a #0 brush. If the budget allows for only one brush, get a #12 round.
Brush care
Proper maintenance of brushes consists mostly of avoiding bad habits. Don’t let paint dry in a brush’s bristles. Don’t let paint reach the ferrule—the metal binding that attaches the bristles to the handle. Don’t allow a brush to stay wet for extended periods of time. Don’t lean a brush against a surface or object long enough for the bristles to deform. Don’t put any part of a brush in the mouth, let alone chew on the bristles. It’s bad for the brush and bad for the body.
The best substances for cleaning brushes are brush-cleaning soap (of course), baby shampoo, or, in a pinch, Ivory bar soap. If using a bar, wet it and put it on a suitable surface; if using a liquid, put a dab of it in the palm of one hand. Pull the brush’s point gently across the top of the bar or the dab in the palm, rotating the brush to work the soap into the bristles. After washing, rinse by running water across the palm and pulling the brush through the water. Be careful not to bend the bristles too much, fan the bristles apart with the fingers, or “smash” the point down.
Watercolor brushes can be used with acrylic paints. However, a brush that has been used with acrylics should not be used with watercolors. The polymers in acrylic paints will seal the bristles, and the brush will not stay wet.
Pigments
Two types of pigments are used in watercolor paints: sediment and stain. Sedimentary pigments sit on the surface of the paper (or other substrate) and usually are made from natural pigments or metals. They are more opaque and are more easily lifted after drying. Stains soak into paper, staining the surface, and are based on dyes. They are more transparent and do not lift easily.
Pigments based on metals or gems are light-fast and therefore long-lasting. Dyes made from artificial or plant-based pigments are not light-fast and fade quickly. Manufacturers recently have begun to add light-fastness ratings to their packaging.
Paper
Watercolor paper is specially “sized”—treated to make it water-resistant, usually with some sort of starch. The result is more vibrant color: the watercolor paints tend to stay on the surface of the paper and don’t soak in as much. (Because of this, it is easier to scan watercolors than to photograph them, as the intensity of flash or studio lighting tends to wash out the colors.) As with other types of art paper, that surface may be smooth or rough, affecting the paints in different ways.
Hot-press paper is smoothest. Its relatively delicate surface yields sharper line detail; pigments soak in more deeply and do not spread as easily. For this reason, it is also very useful for mixed media. In traditional paper-making processes, the rollers that pressed the paper into its final form were heated. This is no longer necessary, but the term “hot press” lingers.
Cold-press paper is rougher. Its more robust surface does not allow pigments or water to soak in as easily. Colors are richer and the paper dries more evenly, but rendering crisp lines or sharp edges is more difficult. Needless to say, the rollers pressing this type of paper were not heated as with hot-press paper.
Rough paper originated more recently. Its aggressive surface is good for large, bold washes or wet-on-wet “loose” techniques. This type of paper is pulled out of the sifting trays and patted or pressed into shape, not rolled.
Weight
Anyone who has purchased paper for art or printing has seen, somewhere on the packaging, a value in pounds (or, perhaps, in kilograms). Usually this value seems nonsensical—a ream of printer paper doesn’t actually weigh sixty pounds, for instance. This is because a ream (five hundred sheets) of paper is not weighed in its final cut form; instead, it is weighed before cutting, in its parent sheet size, whatever that might be.
Watercolor paper comes in three weights; in general, heavier weights are better for wet-on-wet techniques, while ighter weights are better suited to dry-paper techniques. The most delicate, 90 pounds, is better for combining light wet-on-wet techniques with crisp lines and vivid color. The most common, 140 pounds, is the weight used in pads of watercolor paper; it is more rugged and has a good color range and detail. The heaviest, 300 pounds, is very rugged, and many artists prefer it for large images. It requires less stretching or preparation and absorbs more pigment, which makes it look more washed-out after drying.
Stretching
Under most circumstances, paper must be stretched to ensure it will dry flat, preventing buckling, wrinkling, and distortion. Different papers and techniques require varying degrees of stretching.
Large works or aggressive wet-on-wet techniques demand a great deal of stretching. Wet the entire paper thoroughly with water—it should not dry while it is being stretched. Lay the paper on the work surface and staple it down according to the diagram below. Leave the paper for about twenty-four hours, allowing it to dry completely, before starting work; begin with the under-drawing.
Less rigorous stretching is needed for smaller works up to about eleven by fifteen inches ("quarter imperial” paper size) or those on which aggressive wet-on-wet techniques will not be used. Lay the paper on the work surface and tape all four sides down tightly and securely with artist’s tape. (This is a heavy-duty acid-free removable tape developed to minimize possible damage to art materials.)
Paper in pads, 300-pound paper, and watercolor “blocks” do not require stretching, as they already are stiff enough to resist buckling and wrinkling. A watercolor block is two or more sheets of watercolor paper glued together at the edges. One corner is not glued, allowing the painting to be peeled off once it is completed and dry.
Techniques
The two basic techniques are dry surface and wet surface. In the former, brushes charged with paint and water are used on dry paper. In the latter, water is brushed on the paper just before paint is applied. Other substances and ancillary techniques can be added to achieve a variety of interesting effects, as described below.
Wet-on-wet technique is simply applying paint over paint before any of it dries. Salt can be sprinkled on wet pigment, absorbing water and pigment wherever a crystal lands and leaving small speckles of lighter pigment. The point of a brush or knife can be run across paint; this technique is called scraping. If the paint is nearly dry, this removes paint from the area. If it is still wet, the area darkens as surrounding pigment infiltrates. Using a clean brush on wet paint reabsorbs or lifts some paint, removing it and leaving a lighter hue.
Masking fluid acts like masking tape; applied to an area, it resists absorption of paint. Use a separate brush for applying the fluid, as it is very hard on the bristles. The life of the brush can be extended by working brush-cleaning soap, baby shampoo, or Ivory bar soap into the brush before using the fluid. Ω
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