Painting in water-colours

The previous lessons showed you the rightway to draw objects, people and landscapes and also animals, in basic outline sketches in black and white. I start the New Year giving you much more interesting and enjoyable lessons - the way to paint in water-colours.

Water-colour painting just as its name indicates, is based on water. The colours are mostly found in solid form in cubes in a box or in liquid form. To start painting the solid colour must be softened with water so that it can be taken on to a paint brush. The paint can be mixed again with water to get it dissolved into the right thickness and applied on your drawing paper.

To get started in painting water colours it does not require a lot of materials. You only need a brush, water in a glass or cup, drawing paper and a little box of paints. Water-colour cannot be done, in any type of paper. The medium needs a special drawing paper, the right weight of paper, and its thickness too is important. A thin soft paper shrinks and wrinkles would appear when water is applied on it. Therefore, the correct paper to be used in painting is fine-grain paper which is smooth and absorbs paint easily. On glossy paper the colour does not stick or absorb well.

The most commonly used paper in water-colour is medium-grain paper which weighs about 250 grams per square metre and the name of the papers are Bond, Kent and Whattman. Paper comes in sheets or in the form of pads such as A4 size pads or small and medium pods. The sheets can be removed from the pad easily. Importance should also be given when choosing the brushes to paint. A beginner does not have to buy many brushes; one or two brushes could be used in many ways. The selection of brushes is most important. To start with, buy number 2, 4 and 8 sable haired paint brushes. They would be more appropriate than just any brush.

Wash technique

The first technique a beginner needs to know to get started in water colour painting is the wash technique.

The principle of water colour painting is very simple: all one needs to do is wet the brush with colour and water and spread it over the paper. Before painting with several colours, I recommend you practise the basic of the wash technique with a single colour. At the beginning concern yourself with one colour. You may use different colours once you understand that the wash technique can offer more complex procedures. At present I will start with a simple object to show you the art of colouring.

In this lesson the subject I haven taken is an apple.

Observe how once the first colour that has been applied dried out, the shadow area has been painted in dark green. You will notice, after having drawn the fruit, that a very light yellowish green colour, has been applied.

The painting has been done from light tones to dark. That is to say first, a very transparent colour is painted and then the centre of the fruit is done with a dark green.

Figure 1 will show the first coating of colour applied and Figure 2 a complete coloured drawing of the fruit.

For a better finish, study the shades and dark colours I have applied. Combined colour is added at the centre of the fruit with a thick brush stroke of brown colour. On the left side of the fruit a slight touch of white is indicated to keep the highlights in correct proportion.

Initially, do a pencil drawing of the fruit (a light drawing) and apply the first colour and do the dark shades to complete the painting. Constant practice will bring good results.

Not only must you learn the art of applying the paint to the paper but also learn how to look at things correctly, to draw any object.