Slide 1
The paper supplies light
Transparent watercolour allows light paper to contribute to the image. A pale area may contain little paint rather than added white.
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Artists can reserve untouched paper for highlights. This requires planning around a shape, because painting the surrounding wash establishes the edge of the unpainted light.
Slide 2
Water moves an edge
A wash placed on damp paper can spread into soft boundaries. On a drier surface, a brushstroke can retain a sharper edge.
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As a wash dries, pigment may gather unevenly and leave a tide line. Such marks record the movement of liquid as well as the movement of the artist's brush.
Slide 3
A dry brush breaks the mark
A relatively dry brush dragged over textured paper can leave broken colour. The raised parts catch paint while gaps remain lighter.
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This makes the paper's texture an active part of the image. A rough sheet and a smoother sheet can produce visibly different marks from a similar movement of the hand.
Slide 4
Another wash changes colour
A transparent wash can modify a dry layer beneath it. Layering lets an artist build colour through several applications.
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The result is different from physically mixing every pigment before painting. Earlier marks can remain visible through a later wash, preserving parts of the image's construction.
Slide 5
Watercolour has many methods
Watercolour painting can include lifting, scratching and opaque additions. Transparent washes are central to the medium but do not exhaust its possibilities.
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Turner experimented with techniques that removed or disrupted paint. A light accent can therefore result from subtraction as well as reserved paper or an added pale material.
Sources
- What is watercolour?
Victoria and Albert Museum
- Watercolor materials and techniques
Metropolitan Museum of Art