Mastering Watercolor Painting: Part 4 - Watercolor Painting Techniques
Mastering Watercolor Painting: Part 4 - Watercolor Painting Techniques
Mastering watercolor techniques allows artists to create stunning and diverse effects. Because watercolors rely on transparency, mastering color layering, glazing, and blending is crucial for achieving depth and richness in paintings. Instead of mixing all colors on a palette, watercolorists embrace optical mixing by layering colors, letting light pass through, and allowing pigments to interact naturally.
Mastering these techniques allows watercolor artists to expand their creative potential and achieve a wide range of effects, from soft and dreamy to bold and textural.
Wet-on-Wet
- Soft Transitions & Natural Blending
- Best For: Skies, water reflections, soft backgrounds, atmospheric effects
How It Works:
- Pre-wet the paper with clean water using a large brush or spray bottle.
- Load your brush with diluted paint and drop it into the wet surface.
- Let colors spread naturally—they will merge and blend organically.
- Tilt the paper to direct pigment flow if needed.
- Allow it to dry before adding details to preserve soft edges.
📌 Pro Tip: Use this technique for ethereal washes and delicate color transitions. More water means softer edges!
Using Winsor & Newton Blending Medium
Wet-on-Dry
- Crisp, Controlled Brushstrokes
- Best For: Detailed work, defining edges, layering, and glazing
How It Works:
- Start with dry paper and load your brush with paint.
- Apply paint directly to create sharp, defined edges.
- For layering, allow previous washes to dry before adding new layers.
- To soften an edge, blend it with a damp brush while the paint is still wet.
📌 Pro Tip: Wet-on-dry gives you the most control—perfect for architecture, botanicals, and intricate details.
Glazing
- Building Depth & Luminous Color
- Best For: Layering, creating depth in portraits, shadows, and landscapes
How It Works:
- Apply a thin, transparent layer of color and let it fully dry.
- Add a second wash of color over the first, allowing previous layers to subtly show through.
- Repeat with multiple layers to enhance richness and complexity.
📌 Pro Tip: Use transparent colors like Quinacridone Gold, Cobalt Blue, or Alizarin Crimson for the best glazing effects!
Dry Brush
- Textured, Rough Effects
- Best For: Grass, bark, fabric textures, or painterly brushwork
How It Works:
- Use a dry brush with minimal water.
- Load the brush with thick paint and drag it across dry paper.
- The bristles will catch on the paper’s texture, leaving broken, streaky marks.
📌 Pro Tip: Use rough-textured paper for maximum effect—great for capturing the raw textures of nature!
Creating Textures
Lifting
- Removing Paint for Highlights & Corrections
- Best For: Cloud highlights, softening edges, or fixing mistakes
How It Works:
- Blot wet paint with a tissue or paper towel to create a highlight.
- Use a damp brush to lift pigment in areas that need lightening.
- For dry paint, use a stiff brush or sponge to gently scrub off pigment.
📌 Pro Tip: Some colors lift better than others—staining pigments like Phthalo Blue are harder to remove!
Salt Texture
- Organic, Crystalized Patterns
- Best For: Abstract textures, galaxy effects, water ripples
How It Works:
- Apply a generous wet wash of paint to the paper.
- Sprinkle salt onto the wet area and let it dry completely.
- Once dry, gently brush off the salt to reveal intricate, crystallized textures.
📌 Pro Tip: Coarse salt creates larger patterns, while fine salt makes subtle textures. Try experimenting with both!
Spattering
- Dynamic & Expressive Texture
- Best For: Starry skies, sand, freckles, random organic effects
How It Works:
- Load a brush with diluted paint.
- Flick the bristles using your finger or another brush.
- Adjust the distance and amount of paint for different effects—closer for dense splatters, farther for light specks.
📌 Pro Tip: Use a toothbrush for finer splatter control, and cover areas you don’t want splattered!
Mastering the Wash: The Foundation of Every Watercolor Painting
Painting a successful watercolor doesn’t have to be frustrating. In fact, once you get comfortable with one of the most important building blocks—the wash—you’ll start to see your paintings come to life with fresh, luminous color.
A wash is simply a layer of color applied to a larger area—too big to cover in a single brushstroke. Whether you’re painting skies, backgrounds, or soft transitions, washes help you create smooth color fields and flowing blends that give watercolor its signature look.
Here are the four basic types of washes every watercolor artist should know:
Flat Wash – Great for skies, walls, or any space where you want a clean, even color with no brush marks.
Gradient Wash – Ideal for shifting from light to dark or dark to light. You'll see this technique a lot in landscapes and traditional Asian watercolor.
Variegated Wash – A go-to when you're transitioning between colors—like the shift from blue to pink in a sunset sky.
Wet-into-Wet Wash – A favorite for experimenting! Drop color into a wet surface and watch it flow, blend, and create gorgeous organic effects. It’s perfect for exploring how different pigments interact.
Once you feel confident with washes, you’ll find they open the door to endless creative possibilities in your watercolor journey.
How to Paint a Flat Wash
Video courtesy of Steve Mitchell, Mind of Watercolor
Gradient Wash
Smooth Transition from Dark to Light
Best For: Creating depth, skies, backgrounds, and subtle shading
How It Works:
- Start with a slightly tilted surface for better flow.
- Load your brush with a rich, wet mixture of paint and apply it to the top of your paper.
- Gradually dilute the paint with water as you move downward, creating a smooth gradient.
- Use horizontal strokes, overlapping slightly to maintain even color transition.
📌 Pro Tip: Work quickly and keep the paper evenly wet to avoid streaks. Try using a large brush for smoother blending in skies and landscapes.
Check out this video to see how to make a unidirectional variegated wash (a graded wash with two colors.)
Practice Exercises
Try this watercolor tutorial from Winsor and Newton: Watercolor How-to Guide
The Art of Composition in Watercolor
Composition is what makes a painting feel cohesive, balanced, and engaging. It’s the way elements are arranged within the frame to guide the viewer’s eye and create visual harmony. While watercolor is known for its fluidity and spontaneity, a well-planned composition ensures that the painting remains intentional and impactful.Why Composition Matters in Watercolor
Unlike opaque mediums such as acrylic or oil, watercolor relies on transparency and layering, making composition even more critical. Poor composition can lead to paintings that feel chaotic or unbalanced. A well-structured painting, on the other hand, allows the viewer to connect with your subject, whether it’s a serene landscape, a vibrant still life, or an expressive portrait.Key Principles of Composition in Watercolor
The Rule of Thirds
One of the most common composition techniques, the rule of thirds divides your painting into a grid of nine equal parts using two horizontal and two vertical lines. Placing focal points at the intersections of these lines creates a naturally balanced and dynamic composition. This technique helps avoid centering your subject, which can sometimes feel static.
Leading Lines
Leading lines guide the viewer’s eye toward the focal point of the painting. These can be natural elements like a winding river, a path, tree branches, or even a series of brushstrokes. They create movement and depth, drawing attention where you want it.
Focal Point & Emphasis
A focal point is the area of the painting that draws the most attention. This could be the brightest color, the sharpest detail, or the most contrast. Watercolor artists can emphasize a focal point through color saturation, value contrast, or sharp edges against soft washes.Balance & Weight
Balance doesn’t always mean symmetry; rather, it refers to the visual weight of elements in the painting. A large dark area on one side of the painting should be balanced with a lighter but equally interesting area elsewhere.Negative Space & Simplification
Negative space, or the areas left unpainted, can be just as important as the painted areas. In watercolor, using negative space effectively can create strong compositions that feel airy and effortless.Perspective & Depth
Watercolor compositions can feel more engaging when there’s a sense of depth. This can be achieved through overlapping elements, changes in scale, or using atmospheric perspective (fading colors and details in the background).Understanding Focal Points in Watercolor Painting
Knowing how to create strong focal points is an essential skill for any artist. A focal point is the area of a painting that naturally draws the viewer’s eye. Thoughtful placement of focal points enhances composition, helping guide the audience through the artwork in a way that feels intentional and engaging.
Video courtesy of Laurel Hart
Creating a focal point isn’t just about making something stand out—it’s about controlling the visual flow of your piece. There are several ways to establish a focal point in your watercolor paintings:
Contrast
Contrast is one of the most effective ways to create a focal point. When something stands out as different from the rest of the painting—whether in color, value, texture, or shape—it naturally draws attention. The stronger the contrast, the more powerful the focal point.
📌 Try This: Use a bold, saturated color in a mostly soft, muted scene to instantly pull focus to a specific area.
Isolation
When an object or subject is separated from the rest of the composition, it automatically becomes a focal point. This technique works especially well in minimalist or high-key watercolor paintings.
📌 Try This: Leave more negative space around your focal area to make it stand out.
Placement
Where you position your focal point matters. While elements placed in the exact center will naturally attract attention, placing them slightly off-center (such as using the rule of thirds) often creates a more dynamic and visually pleasing effect.
📌 Try This: Sketch a grid dividing your painting into thirds and place your main subject at one of the intersections.
Convergence
Lines—whether actual or implied—can lead the eye toward a focal point. This technique, known as convergence, can be achieved through brushstrokes, perspective lines, or the natural direction of elements in your scene.
📌 Try This: Arrange tree branches, shadows, or architectural elements so they subtly point toward your focal area.
The Unusual
Introducing something unexpected into a composition is another way to establish a focal point. This could be a unique color, an out-of-place object, or an exaggerated detail that breaks the pattern of the rest of the painting.
📌 Try This: Add a single bright-colored flower in a field of neutral tones or use an exaggerated scale for one element to create visual intrigue.
By understanding and applying these techniques, you can guide the viewer’s experience, ensuring that your watercolor compositions feel balanced, intentional, and engaging.
Planning Your Composition Before Painting
Even in a loose and expressive medium like watercolor, taking a few moments to plan your composition can make a significant difference. Here are some quick ways to improve composition before you start painting:✔ Value Studies – Plan your light and dark areas to ensure contrast and depth.
✔ Crop & Adjust – If working from a reference, crop the image or adjust elements to create a stronger composition.
✔ Try Different Formats – Experiment with horizontal, vertical, or even square compositions to see what best suits your subject.
By incorporating these composition principles, your watercolor paintings will have a stronger impact, drawing the viewer in and creating a sense of harmony and movement. Composition doesn’t restrict creativity—it enhances it by providing a framework that supports your artistic vision.
Negative Painting
Image courtesy of Louise De Masi
Negative painting is a powerful watercolor technique where you paint around a subject rather than directly filling it in. Instead of focusing on adding color to an object, you define its shape by painting the background or surrounding areas. This technique is especially useful for creating depth, dimension, and intricate details without outlining objects.
Negative painting is a unique approach that helps artists think differently about layering and depth. By focusing on what's not painted instead of what is, it offers a fresh way to build luminous, layered watercolor paintings. With practice, this technique can bring added dimension and realism to your work while preserving the signature fluidity of watercolor!
Why Use Negative Painting?
Creates Depth and Layers – Allows for a gradual build-up of foreground and background elements.
Enhances Highlights – Leaves sections of the paper untouched, using the white of the paper for highlights.
Develops Intricate Details – Great for painting foliage, florals, animals, and abstracts.
Encourages a Different Approach to Painting – Forces artists to think in shapes and layers rather than lines and filling.
How to Do Negative Painting in Watercolor
Sketch the Subject Lightly
- Use a light pencil (2H or HB) to outline only the main shapes you want to keep white or lighter.
- Avoid hard edges or heavy graphite, as they may show through the final painting.
Establish a Light Wash for the Background
- Apply a light wash of color around the subject to create the first layer of depth.
- Let it dry before adding deeper layers.
Start Layering Darker Values
- Instead of filling in your main subject, paint around it with a slightly darker color.
- Each layer gets progressively darker, pushing the background further back and making the subject stand out.
Refine the Edges & Details
- Use a small round brush (size 4 or smaller) for fine details.
- Adjust edges by softening with a damp brush for a more natural transition.
Add More Depth if Needed
- Let the painting fully dry between layers to avoid unwanted blending.
- You can go as dark as necessary in the background to make the foreground pop.
When to Use Negative Painting?
Botanical Painting – Leaves, flowers, and plant stems appear more natural when defined by darker background tones.
Foliage & Trees – Instead of painting every leaf, paint around them for a more realistic effect.
Animals & Wildlife – Create soft fur, feathers, or patterns by defining the space around them.
Abstract Art – Build organic shapes and illusions using layered background washes.
Lettering & Calligraphy – Use negative space to make words or quotes stand out.
Tips for Mastering Negative Painting
Plan the Composition – Visualize layers before starting.
Keep Brushes Clean – Control water and pigment to avoid muddy colors.
Work in Layers – Gradually build depth instead of trying to get it perfect in one pass.
Use Transparent Colors – This prevents the background from becoming too heavy or opaque.
Practice with Simple Shapes – Start with basic leaves or geometric patterns before moving on to complex compositions.
Color Mixing and Blending in Watercolors
Because watercolors are transparent, layering and blending behave differently than in opaque media like oils or acrylics.
Mixing Colors on the Palette vs. On Paper
- Mixing on the Palette – Creates more predictable and controlled results. Useful for uniform color application.
- Mixing on Paper (Glazing & Wet-in-Wet) – Produces spontaneous and fluid color interactions, allowing for soft gradients.
Video courtesy of Louise De Masi
Layering (Glazing) in Watercolor
- Glazing is the process of layering thin washes of color over dried layers to build depth and richness.
- Since previous layers remain visible, the colors interact optically, rather than mixing physically.
- Example: A yellow wash over blue creates a luminous green, rather than a dull, muddy mix.
Wet-in-Wet Blending
- Wet-in-wet techniques involve adding pigment to a damp surface, allowing colors to flow and merge organically.
- Ideal for soft backgrounds, skies, and natural gradients.
- The amount of water controls the softness of edges—more water results in smoother blends.
Wet-on-Dry Blending
- Wet-on-dry techniques involve painting a wet stroke onto dry paper or a dry layer of paint.
- Allows for sharper edges and more controlled blending.
- Great for glazing, layering, and defining details.
Creating Neutral Colors and Shadows
- Mixing complementary colors in the right proportions creates neutral grays and browns, which are crucial for painting realistic shadows and muted tones.
- Example: Blue + orange = grayish brown; red + green = deep brown.
- Instead of using black from a tube, mixing your own darks (e.g., ultramarine blue + burnt sienna) leads to richer, more vibrant shadows.
Color Strategies for Watercolor Artists
Limiting Your Palette for Harmony
- Using a limited color palette (3–6 colors) helps maintain harmony in a painting.
- Many artists use a split-primary palette (a warm and cool version of each primary) to mix a wide range of colors efficiently.
Angela Fehr, a Daniel Smith artist blogger talks about selecting limited palettes from the full line of colors.
"Can you have 100+ colors and a limited palette? It can be done – here’s how I indulge my addiction for DANIEL SMITH Watercolors, while avoiding color overload in my paintings.
I love thinking about the role of value and color in a painting as two hands clasped. Value is the right hand; the structure created as light and dark contrast and guide the eye through the painting. Many artists will insist that if your values are good, the colors you choose do not matter. But just as we use both hands thrown out to balance on a narrow path, the left hand of color serves an important purpose that is remarkably impactful – the role of creating mood in the painting. When experimenting with limited palette color in landscape studies, remember that one reference photo can have thousands of iterations, when the smallest color change turns the scene from morning to evening and sunny to stormy."
Granulating vs. Non-Granulating Colors
- Granulating colors (like ultramarine blue and burnt sienna) create texture as pigment particles settle into the paper.
- Non-granulating colors (like phthalo blue) result in smoother washes.
Staining vs. Lifting Colors
- Staining pigments (like alizarin crimson, phthalo blue) bind to paper and are difficult to lift or erase.
- Non-staining pigments (like cerulean blue) can be easily lifted with water and a tissue.
- Knowing which colors stain helps in planning corrections and layering techniques.
Watercolor Painting for Different Subjects
Landscapes
Landscapes are one of the most popular subjects for watercolor artists. Techniques include:
Washes for Skies – Use wet-on-wet techniques to blend soft skies with smooth transitions.
Layering for Depth – Start with light washes for distant elements and increase pigment intensity for foreground details.
Dry Brush for Texture – Apply minimal water for tree bark, grass, or rocky textures.
Atmospheric Perspective – Use cool, muted colors for distant elements and warm, vibrant hues for closer details.
Portraits & Figures
Watercolor portraits require careful control of layering and blending:
Building Skin Tones – Layer transparent washes of warm and cool colors for realistic skin tones.
Softening Edges – Keep features fluid and lifelike using controlled wet-on-wet techniques.
Details in the Eyes and Lips – Use glazing to add depth while maintaining the medium's luminosity.
Botanical & Floral Painting
A Flowering Cactus: Heliocereus Speciosus by Pierre-Joseph Redouté. Watercolor on vellum (1831), Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)
Botanical watercolors demand precision and controlled layering:
Glazing for Petals and Leaves – Use transparent layers to create depth and realism.
Color Fading for Soft Effects – Lift pigment to create delicate petal transitions.
Fine Details with a Rigger Brush – Perfect for veins in leaves and subtle edges.
Urban Sketching
Watercolor is a great medium for quick and expressive urban sketching:
Loose Washes for Buildings – Capture architectural elements without rigid outlines.
Perspective Techniques – Use light washes for distant buildings and stronger contrast in foreground elements.
Adding People and Motion – Use quick strokes for lively city scenes.
Now that you learned about watercolor painting techniques, read the next part of our series, Mastering Watercolor Painting: Part 5 - Pro Tips for Watercolor Painting. Practical tips can improve your watercolor painting experience. By mastering water management and mistake correction, you’ll gain confidence in your watercolor skills and achieve more polished results. CLICK HERE to continue reading.
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- Elizabeth Ragona
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