The Wacky World of Watercolours

To begin… Divide your page into 12 sections with a pencil and ruler Follow me as we experiment with different watercolour techniques in each block

Flat wash Cover the block in clean water Add colour to your brush Try to get the colour to be consistent from side to side

Graduated wash Leaving the block dry, add colour to your brush Put any colour on one edge of the block in a line “swish” your brush in water and drag your brush along the bottom of this line of colour Repeat this step until you get to the bottom of the block

Wet-in-wet Cover a block with clean water Create a flat wash or graduated wash While this wash is still wet add another colour (or multiple colors)

Adding texture with salt Create a flat wash or a wet on wet wash While the paint is still really wet quickly sprinkle the salt on the wet paint Let the paint dry and then brush off any access salt

Drawings and paint Watercolour pencils Charcoal Chalk pastel

Resist with oil pastels Using some oil pastels create a design or other drawing… Try using a light colour and a dark colour Add a wash over the the drawing

spatter Using a toothbrush, “spatter” the paint To do this hold the brush in one hand and with your other hand use your thumb and forefinger at the tip of the brush and pull the bristles In this example the artist has made one side of the block wet and the other is dry

Dry brush Remove as much water from your brush as possible Apply some paint and create a “drawing” with your brush

Scraffito…(scratch) Using a tack or sharp object, scratch into the dry paper surface Apply a wash over the marks you have made *darker colours tend to be more successful

Resist with tape Use a piece of painters tape to create a design Add a wash over the whole block Let the paint dry, then remove the paint

Playing with the techniques… In the remaining empty blocks play with the techniques Layer some, try ones that didn’t seem to work very well, repeat your favourites, etc. Have fun!

Previous images from nting/splatter/splatter3

Think you know your techniques? Let’s try them out! This “experiment” will be the cover of a mini handbound book Take the pre-cut paper and create an image that incorparates your favourite techniques (I highly encourage you to have at least THREE watercolour techniques combined together) Put it on the dry rack… When you are finished clean your area quickly so that we can begin our books!