Watercolor Basics for the Beginning Art Student

Today's article is about the basic techniques that are used in creating interesting watercolor paintings when applying paint to paper. These techniques are typically the most commonly used by artists used in painting watercolors. 

These basic techniques  essentially include wet on wet technique , wet on dry, dry on wet and dry on dry. 

Moreover, wet on wet, is where the paper is wet and the paint is wet. Wet on dry techniique is where the paper is dry and the paint is wet. Dry and wet technique is where the paint is dry in the paper is wet. Lastly, dry on dry technique is where both the paper and the paint is dry.

Each of these basic  techniques can be used to create various effects in your watercolor painting. It is a good idea to experiment with each method of applying paint to find out exactly what you can do with all of the various techniques.  Also, the amount of water in the paint or on the paper as used in each of the these basic methods can be varied to create different effects.  For example, excessive water in wet on wet can used to be create paint blossoms or wet paint can be allowed to run to create dripping or run effects and so on.

 Timing is often critical when applying paint to wet paper and the degree of drying which has occurred on the paper and brush. It is important to remember for the beginning artist that as more water is applied transparency is increased and as the amount of water is decreased the degree of opacity of the paint is typically increased. Again it is important to experiment with and to combine the these basic methods in discovering new avenues of expression.

In conclusion , understanding these basic techniques can help you create better watercolor paintings and  how they can used independently or together in your works and  furthermore to add to your awareness of each method to better realize and be successful in your artistic  efforts.

Recommended Watercolor Instruction:

Start to Paint With Watercolor Book

How to Make a Watercolor Paint Itself Book

Charles Reid's Watercolor Secrets -- DVD