Tuesday's Tips and Techniques for Watercolor Painting

Brush Handle Repair

It is not a good idea to leave your watercolor brushes sitting in water or to seal them up after using them. Eventually, the enamel will begin to crack, chip and flake off. This does not mean it's the end of a good brush. Don't through it away, don't stuff it in a drawer never to be used again.

Simply take masking tape and wind it around the handle of the brush where the enamel has begun to chip and flake off. This will help extend the life of a brush tremendously.

When I first started taking watercolor painting classes, I did not take good care of my brushes. After class I would pack my stuff up, often times tossing my brushes into a ziplock bag. I did not seal the bag, but I left the brushes in the bag. I never left my brushes soaking in the water.

When I used the brushes at home, I would place them in a cup, bristle end up. The water would soak through the ferrel and into the handle of the brush. I believe this is what caused the tip end of the handle to crack and chip off.

After class as soon as I get home I now open up my brush holder and after using my brushes at home, I allow my brushes to air dry flat. This method has definitely extended the life of the enamel on the brushes.

And yes, the taped yellow brush does have the end tip sawed off. This helps it fit in my travel case.

Tuesday's Tips and Techniques for Watercolor Painting

Photographing Little Watercolors

I photograph my little watercolor paintings on an open book. This could actually apply to anything small. It gives you an idea of scale, it's on an open book, it cannot be very big. I chose my Swedish Pippi Longstocking book because I did not want people to get caught up in reading the words on the page.

I do not have a big fancy photography set up. A window, a book, a canvas panel, a trash can and my digital SLR camera. My key ingredient is the South facing window. The best pictures are taken on an overcast day or a bright rainy day. Bright sunshine washes the pictures and creates too much drama and harsh shadows. Overcast and rain bring out the colors of the artwork with very little photo editing.

I also prefer to take my photographs in the late afternoon. The time of day changes with the seasons. In the winter time between 3 and 4 pm works great in my part of the world. As the days get longer I can stretch the time from 3 to 6:30 pm.

I love the open book, something about the black letters and white background of the book helps the camera to automatically adjust the settings. I set my camera to No Flash and zoom all the way in. By doing this, I can also achieve some of the effects you would get on the macro setting, but the flash does not pop on.

I needed to find something that was just below the height of the window sill and wouldn't you know it my little studio trash can works perfect. Other heights, had me struggling with the shadows of the window frame. The table top is one of the many canvas panels I use for taping down my paper when I create watercolor paintings. Place the open book on top and voila, perfect little backdrop with a super quick and easy set up. The height is perfect, just below the sill the light shines down onto the open book and lights up my work nicely. I am able to easily take 4 or 5 photos at interesting angles and also straight down with ease.

I love the variety of angles, steep angles, twisted angles. Variety is the spice of life!

Now you know the secret to my Etsy Shop photos.

Tuesday's Tips and Techniques for Watercolor Painting

Dry Brush Technique

You can add texture to a watercolor painting by using the dry brush technique. This works with cold pressed and rough watercolor paper. Hot pressed watercolor paper is perfectly flat and ironed out. This can be done with any color of watercolor and it does not matter if it is a transparent or opaque color. The trick to behind the dry brush technique is in the amount of water to paint ratio. No you are not using a totally dry brush, you never want to paint with a totally dry brush, always wet your brush before dipping it into watercolor paint.

You want to use less water and more paint. Dampen your brush and blot some of the water out, pick up some color and lightly drag the side of your brush across the top surface of your paper. The bumps and dips in the paper will help create the textured look. It can be done with either a round or flat brush. Practice a bit and give it a try.

Dry brush is great for creating texture in landscapes.

Tuesday's Tips & Techniques for Watercolor Painting

Working with Opaque Watercolors

Watercolor is a challenging medium to work with to be successful you really need to learn your palette and several key factors of how the paints work together.

While learning to use watercolors, do you find yourself creating a lot of muddy color? If so, one of the factors could be the use and mixing of opaque watercolors. I am not against using opaque colors, but it is much easier to create mud if you do use opaque colors. The reason is mixing two or more opaque colors together or mixing one opaque color with too many transparent colors. The colors are brilliant on their own but too many opaques can ruin a painting.

Tuesday's Tips and Techniques for Watercolor Painting

Go Big, Go Bold with Bigger Brushes

Find yourself always reaching for those little brushes? Getting all caught up in the fine little details of things? Set aside your little brushes and reach for your bigger brushes. This idea alone rattles the nerves of many of my students. With watercolor painting, the fewer strokes you use to accomplish something, the fewer strokes you use to fill in an area, the fresher the end result will be.

I've done a ton of paintings on a 1/4 sheet of watercolor paper using a 1 1/2 inch wash brush, a 3/4 inch one stroke brush and a number 8 round. To paint larger areas with fewer strokes you need bigger brushes. The larger brushes hold more paint and more water for more continuous swashes of color. You can still add in small touches of color with the corner of the flat brush or the tip of the round brush.

Go big, go bold, let those big brushes do the work for you.

Tuesday's Tips and Techniques for Watercolor Painting

Plastic Wrap Painting

Today's tip is more of a technique. Challenge yourself!

I started with a 1/4 sheet of watercolor paper taped to a board.

Have a roll or large piece of plastic wrap at the ready.

1. Using a large wash brush wet your paper top to bottom with clear water.

2. Add in splotches of your favorite colors, wet into wet, deep rich colors.

3. Place your piece of plastic wrap onto the wet colors.

4. Press the plastic wrap, squish it around, crinkle it in places.

5. Now allow the paint to dry completely with the plastic wrap in place.

6. When the paint is dry, remove the plastic wrap.

7. Create a painting from the images and textures left behind.

I turned mine into a bouquet of flowers.

Try it and share with me know what you come up with, I would love to see it!

Tuesday's Tips and Techniques for Watercolor Painting

Organize and Analyze

I still cannot believe we are starting a new year, 2010! I am going to continue my Tuesday's Tips & Techniques for Watercolor Painting through the new year. We may as well start it off on the right foot with organization.

It's time to go through your stash of watercolor paints. Separate the used tubes and the dried out tubes of paint from those that are still good. I'm tossing my pretty much squeezed dry tubes into their own special container, perhaps next weeks tip will deal with those. The hardened dried out tubes will also get tossed into their own container. Separate the good from the bad. Look over all the colors you have. Notice the colors you use most. Maybe there are a few brand new tubes of paint in there filled with colors you have yet to try. Organize your tubes of watercolor paint by color and brand. Make mental notes of what brands you like, which brands you don't like.

What to do with those colors you don't like anymore? Perhaps you can swap colors and tubes of paint with a fellow artist.

It's time to analyze your current stock of colors to see what you have and evaluate what you may need.

Tuesday's Tips and Techniques for Watercolor Painting

Lose the Fear, Enjoy the Process

My tip for the very last Tuesday of 2009 is basically ... Just Paint!

We have all been wrapped up in the hustle and bustle of the holidays, it's time to just relax and paint something. Paint anything!

Don't fear the blank sheet of watercolor paper. Here's a plan to start. Following the rule of thirds, draw a horizontal line 1/3 up from the bottom of your piece of watercolor paper. Wet the top 2/3 with clear water. Now let your mind wander. Dip those brushes into colors of paint. Create something, create anything. Create a landscape. Start with a sky. Add in a pale background. Use medium tones for a middle ground and darker tones for a fore ground.

Forget your fears, forget the craziness of the holiday season and loose yourself in a painting. Enjoy the process!

I hope you have enjoyed my weekly Tuesday's Tips and Techniques for Watercolor Painting. I have really enjoyed creating them! Hope you continue to follow me through the new year.

Tuesday's Tips and Techniques for Watercolor Painting

Protecting Your Art

Okay, so you've painted a bunch of paintings, maybe matted a few but they're not ready for framing. Perhaps you don't plan on framing them, you want to either sell them at art shows or give them away as gifts. Whether or not you mat them, you can slip them into Crystal Clear Bags. I love these bags and use them for my own artwork. They're acid free and lignin free and perfect for keeping fingerprints off of your art. They come in tons of sizes and you can find them easily at http://www.clearbags.com

They have a peel away strip that reveals a sticky adhesive to close and seal the flap on the bag. I prefer the ones they call Protective Closure Bags the sticky part is on the bag and not on the flap so you can easily slide your art in and out even after you've sealed it, because it is re-sealable. The ones with the sticky on the flap are great for odd sized pieces where you can fold the flap down tighter on a piece of art that is smaller than the bag.

Tuesday's Tips and Techniques for Watercolor Painting

Glazing

I cannot express how important it is to learn the colors in your palette. Find out how many new and different colors you can create by combining the colors in different ways.

Glazing watercolors is a great way to increase the amount of colors you can create and to create colors that glow through other colors. Glazing watercolors is putting a wash of transparent watercolor over top of a color that is already dry. Through glazing you can create colors that glow, you can create color you cannot create by mixing two colors on your palette and applying the mix to your paper.

Practice glazing by painting a variety of one color squares on a piece of watercolor paper. Allow the squares of color to dry completely. Then using transparent colors, place a swash over top of the dry color. Bring the transparent swash of color beyond the dry square. Repeat this with a variety of colors. By bringing the swash beyond the dry square, you will be able to see the swash of green applied over the yellow square creates a very pretty glowing yellow-green. The light red creates a pretty orange that has a gorgeous glow of yellow. You can intensify one yellow with another yellow.

The glazing technique can be used in a variety of watercolors, from flowers to barns and more. The key is to glaze a transparent color over the top of any dry color.

Tuesday's Tips and Techniques for Watercolor Painting

Stuck On Color

Ever find yourself painting with one particular color all the time? Always have a favorite go to color that you use way to often? A certain color that is in all of your paintings? An over used color?

Perhaps it is time to switch it up a bit! If you paint with watercolors fresh from the tube, take that tube of paint out of your regular stash. Move it from your paint box, your drawer, wherever you normally keep it and set it somewhere out of the way. If you paint with your colors dried in your palette cover that well with a few swatches of masking tape. This way if the color is out of reach or hidden, you will not be tempted to use it.

Encourage yourself to try new color combinations. Explore the other colors in your palette.

Tuesday's Tips and Techniques for Watercolor Painting

Paint What You Love

One of the best tips I think I can give beyond learning various techniques and the basics to watercolor painting is to paint what you love. If you love what you are doing and you do what you love you will constantly continue to improve. If you love landscapes, paint landscapes. If you love barns and farms, then paint barns and farms. If you absolutely love flowers, paint flowers. Keep painting the subject matter you love. Inspiration to paint will come from those things around you that you treasure. What better way to keep practicing than to paint those things you truly love to paint.

Tuesday's Tips and Techniques for Watercolor Painting

Practice Strokes

Another great use for those left over scraps from trimming watercolor paper down to size or removing those giant watermarks and embossed logos is practicing strokes.

Let's just say you're trying to get the right stroke for painting those whispy leafless tree limbs. Pick up a scrap of watercolor paper and practice. You don't want those strokes to look all the same. You want variety in shape and size. A patchy scruff of grass, do you have the right color, the right brush, the right amount of paint and water?

A scrap of watercolor paper is perfect for practicing until you get the desired stroke down pat.

Tuesday's Tips and Techniques for Watercolor Painting

Scraps for Colors

Watercolor paper comes in big sheets 22" x 30" inches. Often times we trim down the big sheets to paint a bunch of smaller paintings. There are times when I do not want the company's huge watermark showing up on my paintings, so I will trim those off too.

What are we left with? A bunch of little scraps.

Save these little scraps. They can come in very handy for testing colors and choosing colors for a painting. You can use them to see how the colors you have chosen blend together and mix to make more colors. You can use them to make a swatch of colors used in a painting that you will not be able to finish in one sitting. Paint a little square of each color and label the colors with a pen or pencil. That way, when you are ready to start painting again you will know exactly which yellow, red or green you were using.

Save your scraps!

Tuesday's Tips & Techniques for Watercolor Painting

Matting Little Works

ACEO = Art Cards, Editions and Originals.

ATC = Artist Trading Card

An ACEO and an ATC are generally the same thing. A small work of art in any medium, the size must be 2.5 x 3.5 inches. Some are prints in either open or limited editions and some are original works of art.

These adorable and highly collectable little works of art look cute framed in a small frame. They also look very chic and contemporary matted and framed to fit a standard 8 x 10 inch frame.

Tuesday's Tips and Techniques for Watercolor Painting

Clean Your Brushes

Thoroughly rinsing your brushes with clean water when done painting for the day is semi-sufficient. It is a good thing to clean your watercolor painting brushes occasionally with soap. It helps condition the bristles and clean out some of the hidden paint. I use the Master's Brush Cleaner and Preserver. It comes in a little round container and so far it has lasted me a very long time.

1. Gather your brushes, the brush soap and dip your brushes in water.

2. Swish the brush over the soap a few times.

3. I then swirl the brush on my white painting table, to lather up the bristles. Rinse in water and repeat. I repeat this process until the soap lather is white and the brush is clean.

4. Rinse in water. I use two water containers. One that is for the first soapy rinse and a second container of water for a cleaner final rinse. Then with your fingers, carefully form the bristles to a point and allow to dry flat.

This is a simple process that does not take long to do and it will help extend the life of your brushes.

Here's an extra little tip: Have a brush with a stray hair or two? Use this brush cleaner to clean your brush. Then lightly rinse the brush leaving a very small amount of soap behind. Using your fingers shape the brush to it's original point or shape. Allow to dry completely. Just remember to rinse the brush well before you begin to paint with it to remove all the soap.

Tuesday's Tips and Techniques for Watercolor Painting

Don't be Stingy with Your Water

This is a great tip. Make sure you use a large water container to rinse out your brushes. Often times I see people trying to paint an 11 x 15 inch (1/4 sheet) watercolor painting and they use a tiny cup of water to clean their brushes. Think big! The bigger your water container, the longer the water will stay clean and the fresher your colors will be. Guess what, dirty water will transfer to your painting.

Make sure you have a container that will hold at least one quart or one liter of water. I like to paint using at least two water containers and sometimes three. You don't need a fancy water container. Think green, recycle. Wash and reuse a food container. I have a bunch of organic yogurt containers which I bring to my classes to give to students who bring in a teeny tiny cup.

Shown here is exactly what is on my painting table this morning. One Tupperware container which was forgotten at my house after a party. I still do not know who it originally belonged to, but it makes a great water container for painting. One lingonberry container (fabulous swedish berries) and one quart sized organic yogurt container.

I always keep one filled with clean clear water, perfect for blending away and softening an edge or wetting the paper. The other two end up with different stages of dirty water. As you paint, if the water becomes real dirty, change it. Dump it out and start with fresh. You don't want to be able to paint color on your paper with your water because most of the time it is an ugly grey-ish brown.

Tuesday's Tips and Techniques for Watercolor Painting

Working Mat

A great addition to your watercolor equipment and supplies is a working mat. As you are painting and trying to decide ... is this painting complete? Use a pre-cut mat to lay over your artwork to help you make your decision. I have several of these working mats in a variety of sizes. These are mats you can use and reuse and not worry if you get fingerprints on them or splash of paint. This is not a mat to use when framing a completed piece.

You can cut your own mat. You can also find an inexpensive mat in the reject or bargain bin at your local art supply store. They often discount mats they cut in the wrong size or color for a customer. Keep a working mat on hand when you are painting.

Tuesday's Tips and Techniques for Watercolor Painting

Pen and Ink and Watercolor

When drawing with pen and coloring with watercolor it is important to use a waterproof, bleed-proof, india ink pen. I like to use Faber Castell's Artist Pitt Pen. I draw the image first, wait a few minutes for the ink to completely dry and then paint in the colors. Another key is to use transparent watercolors. If you use opaque colors chances are you will cover up the ink lines.

1. Draw first with india ink.

2. Paint with transparent watercolors.

Simple as that and makes a cute little painting. Don't worry about filling in every inch of paper with the paint because that adds to the character of watercolor and ink.

Tuesday's Tips and Techniques for Watercolor Painting

Powdered Gold

Add a little sparkle to your watercolor painting with a bit of shiny gold goauche. I have used Schmincke Tro-Col-Bronze Dry Gouche sec in the color called pale gold. It is a bronze powder with dry gouache binding medium.

1. Place a very small amount of the gold powder on your palette and add a few drops of water.

2. Using a paint brush, stir the water and gold powder together to make liquid gold.

3. Paint the gold onto your dry watercolor painting.

4. Allow to dry.

Gouache is an opaque watercolor. The gold does dry to sort of a shiny gold foil like finish which is opaque. A little goes a long way. I have used it on Christmas cards for a gold halo, a pretty star in the sky, a gold crown on a king. I use a small ramekin for mixing up some gold paint. Then saved the leftovers in the ramekin, just rewet to use again at a later date. It's June now, I painted the center of the little flower this morning with leftover gold powder from my angel aceo's painted last December.