Art & Interior Guide

Workshop

Favorite Topics - Watercolor Steps

What are Watercolor Paints?
Watercolor paints are basically the mixture of water-soluble binder and pigments.
Art Supplies Needed
  • Watercolor Paints
  • Watercolor Paper (I prefer Arches, 100% Rough, 140 lb)
  • Lead pencil (I prefer a "H")
  • Watercolor Paintbrushes (Art Sets with a Variety of Brush Sizes)
  • Watercolor Brush Cleaners
  • Watercolor Brush Holders

Let's Paint...

Step 1:
Find an inspirational image to paint and sketch it out on a piece of paper. I find this step very important because you could be working on the painting for a long time and you don't want to be bored creating your new painting.
Step 2:
Transfer your image onto your stretched watercolor paper. Use a soft lead pencil (I prefer a H), to sketch in the background objects: for instance flowers, hills, mountains, distant plants. The background objects are typically smaller and have less detail than objects in the foreground.
Step 3:
You can use frisket films, masks, and/or gum to mask of areas of the watercolor painting. This is a personal decision, I rarely use a small amount of fisket gum on my paintings for special areas.
Step 4:
Prepare your paints by squeezing paints from tubes onto a palette. If you use cake paints then you will need to add clean water to each cake and let them soak for a few minutes before using. I prefer to use high-quality pigments that are lightfast: These are made with materials that are more resistant to fading, cracking, or flaking.
Step 5:
Now you can mix up your paint colors on a tray, plate or palette. Angle your watercolor board before you start painting on it.Now comes the fun part, painting! Experiment with different painting techniques (wet-into-wet, wet-on-dry, and drybrush).
Step 6:
Allow your finished painting to dry completely, before you remove it from the board. Store your completely painting in a dark dry place, out of direct sunlight. When I decide to frame them, I will use a sturdy frame that has Plexiglas® plastic glazing and an acid free matting.

Watercolor Paper Finish

Watercolor paper is a very versatile surface with a degree of absorbency that allows transparent color paint to appear at its most luminous. There are three types of watercolor paper finish, which is related to how smooth the paper surface is. The three types are called hot press, cold press and rough. The most common are cold press and hot press. While primarily used with watercolor paints, it can also be used for graphite, charcoal, acrylics, gouache, pastels, pencils, and can be primed for oil paints. In my opinion there's no single "better" paper finish, as both cold press and hot press watercolor paper have distinct advantages. Hot press is good for detailed images and cold press works well with creating organic images.

Watercolor Paper Weight

Before painting consider the weight of the paper you will be painting on. The three most common weights are
3 Types:
  • 40lb (300gsm): suitable for a wide range of watercolor techniques and can handle a good amount of water.
  • 300lb (640gsm): excellent for heavy washes, and multiple layers, as it can withstand more water without buckling or warping.
  • Lighter weights (under 140lb): generally not recommended for watercolor unless you are doing very light washes or using them in a sketchbook, as they are more prone to buckling and warping. Note: If you are using paper lighter than 140lb, consider stretching the paper on board or canvas before painting on it to prevent buckling.
Color: affects Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 Home Styles: interior style guide Workshop: learn how to paint watercolors (above)
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