How to use Watercolor Paint
Acrylic paint and oil paint are different, but they have a lot of similar qualities and often come out looking very similar on a piece of canvas. Watercolor, on the other hand, is very different. You use different tools, you use different techniques, and you get a different result.
Use lots of water
As expected, water is a necessity when watercolor painting. Not only does watercolor paint require water to rinse and clean your brushes, but you actually use very little paint mixed with a lot of water to get your color.
Start with a wash and build on your colors
With watercolor paint, you first start with a wash after lightly drawing out the basics of your painting. By a wash I mean you use a tiny bit of paint with water to get a very light color and apply the color to the whole painting. Of course, make sure you use different colors for different areas.
For example, where you are going to put water, add blue. Where you are going to put a bushes, add green. Where you are going to have a purple blanket, add purple. The point is that you are starting with the lightest, faintest colors first and working up to the darker colors with more detail.
Be careful with bleeding
Make sure you are very careful when you start with a new color. If the paper is still wet where you just applied pink, be very careful not to let the blue that you are next applying touch or it will mix together. To be safe, wait until it is completely dry. Remember though, even if it’s dry, if you paint a little red over yellow, it will turn orange, it just won’t spread across your paper.
Bleeding means that one color is grabbed into another. If a large area is still wet, that new color that has just bled will have no problem bleeding over the entire wet area. Still, if this does happen, it’s not the end of the world. It’s only a wash. Just make sure you let your painting dry and you can decide what kind of style you are going for.
For example, a little dark blue from the water mixed into the green of the grass might still look nice because they are complementary colors. On the other hand, if some purple mixes with green, you will get a muddy, brown color. Who knows, maybe it will work?
Add the detail as you go
With watercolor paint, you can’t paint over your mistakes. This is just one reason why you build to intricacy. If you paint a deep, dark cactus and get it wrong, you’re finished.
Another thing with watercolor is that the added water is part of the watercolor technique. If you are going to glob on thick watercolor paint, you might as well just use acrylic or oil paint. It is the wash effect that makes watercolor paint unique and desireable.
Give watercolor paint a try and you might find it becoming your new artistic passion. If it doesn’t work out and your painting dreams are destroyed give acrylic or oil paint a try or dry a whole other medium altogether such as pencil or pastels.
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