Watercolor paper

The paper used for watercolor painting is a specialty heavy paper at least 90lb. (To give you an idea of the thickness, standard card stock is 60 or 80lb.) Heavier, thicker, paper, such as 140lb, will buckle less from the moisture used during the painting process.

Watercolor paper ranges from inexpensive (thick paper with texture) to expensive watercolor paper (cotton paper). It comes in two varieties: hot press (smooth) and cold press (bumpy).

Watercolor paper is sold in single sheets, in a pad or a block. Single large sheets are sold for artists to cut their own smaller sheets. A block of watercolor paper is sealed on all sides, which keeps the paper rigid. Read more!

More watercolor technique

Layering is a technique used in watercolor as well as in other types of paintings. A wash has to completely dry before more can be done such as adding details on top. Or a glaze may be put over a wash. Similar to a wash, a glaze uses a thin transparent pigment. It could be used to adjust color and tone of the underlying wash. Multiple glazes can be used as long as each layer is allowed to dry thoroughly.

Another technique is “dropping in color.” A color is introduced to a wet region of a painting and allowed to bleed and feather without being touched by the artist. The results are unpredictable, but interesting.

Watercolor can be dissolved and removed or “lifted off” after it has dried, although not all colors allow this technique. The way it is done is by using a brush with clean water on the area, then blotting with a tissue. Sometimes an area will be masked before this is attempted. Read more!

Watercolor Painting

Watercolor painting has its own challenges. If you look at watercolor paper, you’ll see it is very thick so it can stand the amounts of water used without warping (at least warping too much).

Some painting styles require the watercolor paper to be dampened before any paint is applied. This technique is used for a “flat wash.” In this case a single pigment is spread in horizontal bands. The paper is laid on a sloping surface so that the paint will even itself out as it dries.
“Wet in wet” uses paint applied to a wet surface. This allows for easy blending of colors on the artwork, including intentional blurring.

Other times, paint is applied to dry paper. Paint may be applied with a dry brush followed up with a wet brush to give what is called Lost and Found edges (lost is soft, found is hard) or applied with a dry brush either to give sharp focused lines or the brush used at an angle so that the pits of the watercolor paper stay unpainted.

More next week. Read more!

Pastels

Pastels are powdered pigment and a binder in stick form. There are soft, hard, pencil, oil and water-soluble pastels.

Soft pastels can be readily smudged and blended, which is great while working on a piece, but means they need a fixative afterwards.

Hard pastels aren’t as brilliant as soft pastels, but smudge less. Pencil pastels are great for adding fine detail. Oil pastels don’t require a fixative, but are slightly less easy to blend. Water-soluble pastels can be thinned using a water wash.

Artists on our site who use pastels include:
Ardith Starostka
Daggi Wallace
Miles Mathis

Read more!

Varnish

Varnish is used on top of oil or acrylic paintings, in the former case to help prevent the oils yellowing, and in both cases to a different sheen (matte or glossy) to the finished painting. Varnish on a painting that will not be under glass also protects it from damage by dirt, dust, and pollution.

Putting varnish on a painting is not something that can be rushed. The paint must be completely dry. For an oil painting that can take several to six months depending on the paint. Read more!