Unit 6. Project Painting a Portrait in Watercolor

Painting the NOSE and SKIN:



Painting the EYES:



Painting the LIPS:

Unit 6. Activity 3- Starting from Scratch

Try to Re-Create This Using the Learned Techniques:

Create a key and label where you used each technique!

Unit 6. Activity2- Applying Watercolor Techniques

WATERCOLOR - TECHNIQUE

                   Try to re-create this basic watercolor painting using the techniques below:

                 

WashesThe most basic watercolor technique is the flat wash. It is produced by first wetting the area of paper to be covered by the wash, then mixing sufficient pigment to easily fill the entire area. The pigment is applied to a sloping surface in slightly overlapping horizontal bands from the top down. Once complete the wash should be left to dry and even itself out - don't be tempted to work back into a drying wash, the results are usually disastrous! A variation on the basic wash is the graded wash. This technique requires the pigment to be diluted slightly with more water for each horizontal stroke. The result is a wash that fades out gradually and evenly		Graded wash through the sky
GlazingGlazing is a similar watercolor technique to a wash, but uses a thin, transparent pigment applied over dry existing washes. Its purpose is to adjust the color and tone of the underlying wash. Non staining, transparent pigments such as Rose Madder (or Permanent Rose), Cobalt Blue and Auroline are ideal for glazing as they can be applied layer after layer to achieve the desired effect. Be sure each layer is thoroughly dry before applying the next.		A cool Gray glaze pushes back the end of the buildings
Wet on WetWet on wet is simply the process of applying pigment to wet paper. The results vary from soft undefined shapes to slightly blurred marks, depending on how wet the paper is. The wet in wet technique can be applied over existing washes provided the are thoroughly dry. Simply wet the paper with a large brush and paint into the dampness. The soft marks made by painting wet in wet are great for subtle background regions of your painting.		Wet in wet push the bushes into the distance.
Dry BrushDry brush is the almost the opposite watercolor technique to wet in wet. Here a brush loaded with pigment (and not too much water) is dragged over completely dry paper. The marks produced by this technique are very crisp and hard edged. They will tend to come forward in your painting and so are best applied around the centre of interest		Dry brush gives crisp, sharp details
BlottingMost watercolor pigment can be dissolved and lifted off after it has dried. Staining colors such as Phthalo or Prussian Blue, Alizarin, Windsor Red, Yellow or Blue are difficult to remove and are best avoided for this technique. The process for lifting off is simple - wet the area to be removed with a brush and clean water then blot the pigment away with a tissue. Using strips of paper to mask areas of pigment will produce interesting hard edged lines and shapes		The foreground shadow was lifted off so as not to draw too much attention
Dropping in ColorThis technique is simply the process of introducing a color to a wet region of the painting and allowing it to blend bleed and feather without interruption. The result is sometimes unpredictable but yields interesting and vibrant color gradations that cant be achieved by mixing the pigment on the palette.		The soft Burnt Sienna suggestion of a bush was dropped in while this area was still very wet

Unit 6. Activity 1- Watercolor Techniques

Techniques:

Washes- Controlled Wash, Graded Wash, Wet-on-Wet Wash

Softening Edges

Dry Brush

Splatter

Alcohol, Salt, Blotting, Stamping, Sand paper, Wax Resist

Unit 6: Intro to Watercolors

From a technical point of view, learning to use watercolor is simple: add water to the paint, put brush on paper, and you're painting. It's the beginning of an exciting and intriguing artistic journey. These 10 watercolor painting tips will help you avoid basic mistakes and get better results right from the start.

Photo © Marion Boddy-Evans

1. Watercolors Dry Lighter

With watercolor paint, a color willalways look more intense (stronger and darker) when it is wet. A color will always be lighter and paler when dry.

It's something you get a feel for through practice and experience. If your paintings look insipid, make the colors more intense by using more paint and less water, or painting another layer of a color over the first.

Photo ©2011 Marion Boddy-Evans

2. Test a Color First

Watercolor paint dries very fast, so test a color on a scrap of paper or on the edge of your painting before using it. That way you'll know whether it's the hue and/or tone you're after. 

3. Dry Watercolor Remains Soluble

Even once watercolor paint has dried, it remains water soluble. You can re-wet the dried paint with water on a brush and it will 'turn' back into paint. This means you can lift the paint off the paper to fix a mistake, lighten a color by removing some of it, or even mix it with new paint. Though you do need to be careful you don't scrub at the paper too much and damage the surface.

4. Watercolor Paint is Transparent

Watercolor paint is transparent. You can see through the layers of color you've painted, making it near impossible to hide mistakes. Don't fight against this, but embrace it and work with it.

5. Light to Dark

Because the white in watercolor comes from the white of the paper, not the paint itself, the usual advice is to paint from light to dark. To start with the lightest colors and tones, and build your way up to the darkest. But don't be afraid to experiment with putting down dark colors early on in a watercolor painting, as it may turn out to be an approach that works for you!

Photo © Marion Boddy-Evans

6. Use a Decent Watercolor Brush

Rather have just one, good brush than a handful of cheap ones that splay out and drop hairs. It'll save you a lot of frustration. A good brush retains its shape so you can get a very fine brushmark from the point; it holds a good quantity of paint so you need to reload it less often. 

Photo © Marion Boddy-Evans

7. Don't Add Too Much Water

Avoid inadvertently adding more water to your paint after you've washed your brush by dabbing the brush onto a dry cloth before putting it in the paint again. If you've loaded a brush with paint and decide you needed less paint, hold clean cloth at ferrule end of the brush hairs to soak up some of the excess. Doing it at this end helps keep the pigment at the tip of the brush.

Photo © Marion Boddy-Evans

8. Watercolor Paper Isn't Identical

The label "watercolor paper" covers a lot of variations. Not only in the thickness of the paper, but also how smooth the surface is and how 'white' it is. 

Photo © Marion Boddy-Evans

9. Stretch Thin Watercolor Paper

The more paint you use and the thinner the sheet of paper, the greater the likelihood is that the sheet will buckle. This can be prevented by stretching the paper first. 

10. Masking Fluid Mistakes

Masking fluid or frisket is very useful for blocking off areas where you don't want the paint to be. But do check first that it'll come off the paper, as it'll soak into very soft paper and then not come off without destroying the surface of the paper.