Watercolour Painting Tips

Tips on watercolour paper

Water colour paper is usually white, but it need not be. A variety of cool and warm tints is available.

Use acid-free paper for paintings you wish to keep as this will yellow less with age.

Cold-pressed watercolour paper is called NOT paper because it's not hot-pressed.

You can buy prestretched watercolor paper in drawing blocks. When you've finished a painting, you use a palette knife to remove the top sheet from the block.

Limit your palette

Limit your colors to just two or three, particularly in the early stages of a painting.

Tie up color

A few fine calligraphic lines in a harmonious color will usually tighten up a disjointed color arrangement. Use a #1 or 2 liner brush or pen and ink. It is important to use just one color for these lines or you run the risk of adding to the confusion. If you use ink, a fine spray of water quickly after the ink is applied, will soften the lines and create some interesting feathering effects.

Darks

Avoid neutral darks - a painting will have more life and character if the darks tend to either warm or cool.

Holding a brush!


Classic Grip:

It's the way you hold a pencil/pen with the difference of gripping the brush further from the business end of things. Pick up your brush and grip the thickest part of the handle above the ferrulle (body of the brush) and hold like like you are getting ready to write a letter. This techinque gives you linear control, making it ideal for flowing lines and drawing with paint.


Pinch:

Hold your brush like you are picking up a pencil from the table-pinching it between your thumb and fingers. As you paint, you can loosen your grip on the brush to allow it to travel, but only use your fingertips to hold the brush while painting. Position your brush parallel to the paper, loosen your wrist and start painting! You won't have much control, but in some situations, that's exactly what you need.


Pass the pencil:


Hold your brush like you are passing someone a pencil or the non-business end of a pair of scissors, but keep it in your hand! This is a looser grip than the pinch with pressure from your thumb holding the body of the brush with your index & middle finger. Your finger and pinkie will wrap loosely and sort of serve as rudders. Rest your knuckles on the paper and scrape the end of your brush against it. Rolling your brush between your thumb and fingers as you paint makes interesting textural effects.



Screwdriver:


Hold your brush like a screwdriver. This limited range of control forces simplicity and gives access to broad sketching and strokes. Hve a tight grip on the ring and pinkie finger as well as the other digits. Roll your wrist while you let the side of the brush roll across the paper for some interesting texture. Useful for blocking in large, loose masses of paint in your paintings. Slapping and daubing paint and making grand curves are fun to do with this grip.






Conductor:



Grip your brush by the tip of the taper of the brush handle, like a conductor does when she/he taps the music stand to get attention. Using this grip, your whole arm down to your fingertips is involved in a balancing act with a wobbly brush.

Credits:

http://www.johnlovett.com/beginer.htm

http://painting.about.com/cs/watercolours/ht/Howto_WCpaper.htm

http://www.watercolorpainting.com/brush_exercise_bands.htm

http://www.watercolorpainting.com/brush_exercise_edges.htm

http://painting.about.com/od/paintingtipswatercolours/qt/tips_WC8.htm

http://www.watercolorpainting.com/brush_exercise_0.htm

Done by : Nadiah