Wet-into-wet techniques

by Tissa Hewavitarane

There's no experience more exhilarating than dropping rich colour on to wet paper and watching things happen. However, wet-into-wet is bit of a misnomer because if you do actually drop wet paint on to a wet surface you then get two lots of water and the result is weak, runny and out of control.

If the paper is already wet you can use the paint thick almost straight from the tube. It will mix with the water on the paper and soften but will stay rich and controllable.

Apart from describing the main pitfalls, there is no way to explain the technique. You just have to experience it and experiment yourself. First, try it out with one colour to starts with burnt amber, and let yourself go fearlessly. Don't be timid. Always have the painting on a gentle slope and use gravity to help you, which can be rather like swimming with the current.

It is so much less effort and you will need less strokes. The technique is ideal for doing cloudy skies, mists, billowy trees, and surging surf, but remember not to do the whole painting in wet-in-wet. Then it will just look out of focus.

Crisp

A word of warning, never use wet-into-wet for foregrounds, they, at least should be crisp and sharp, otherwise it will look as if you're wearing the wrong glasses. The flashiest technique in painting is that of following rich colours on to wet surface and watching the resulting mixtures flow and blend.

The control of wet techniques takes much practice and experience and the rewards are often quite exhilarating. With experience you will gain confidence and find yourself painting complementary colours under every wash-technique. Experience will teach you the necessity of speed and the correct mixture of water and pigment.

Succeeding steps

A good example of the use of wet-into-wet, reproduced in the painting I have done here titled 'Gem mining at Ratnapura' shows the strong paint used to get the dark trees at the background, whilst the distant hill was still damp.

The sky and the mountains done with untramarine blue create balance without boredom. Note the trees in dark colour that provide a link between the blues of the sky and the green of the landscape. The focal point (the gempit) is shown with miners working while the river curves in on the right.

To get a balance composition a hut is drawn on the left corner with a minor wash is applied while the initial wash is still wet. The entire painting was done using complementary glazes of wet-into-wet. Slurpy skies, large soft surface, billow trees and surging surfs can be flowed on to wet sheet with a loaded brush.

Intense

When running colours on to a saturated paper, be sure they are quite intense since they will dry lighter. Remember that the water in the paper dilutes the colour as it flows from the brush.

The fresh colour needs to be put on relatively dry to stay in place. You cannot explain it verbally, it has to be experienced. The wet paper is usually worked on white flat, because a slanted surface will cause colours to run towards the bottom of the sheet.

Rough or textured papers generally work better than smooth ones. The combination of paper wetness and intensity of colour vary from minute to minute.

A brush with very thick paint can make a fairly sharp line even on wet sheet. Experiment with several drawing sheets to determine the best times to get the effects. Most artists apply the lightest areas down first, darkening the colours.

As with dry brush techniques, not many paintings are made only with wet-in-wet techniques.

The method produces the best results when the exquisitely soft edges are contrasted with the same sharp-edged areas applied to the painting when it is dry or almost dry.

Try some experiment studies on a variety of papers that have been soaked for various lengths of time.

Many conditions such as temperature, humidity and air movements will change the results, but some generalities can be learned that will apply to most cases.

I find wet-into-wet techniques have formed an important part in most of them, perhaps because they always seem to sell well.

Rough or textured papers generally work better than smooth. Try some experiment studies on a variety of papers that have been soaked various lengths of time. Finally, always allow for the fact that the result painting will dry lighter - that's another thing that seems to surprise students constantly even after they've done scores of watercolours.

Think of a wet pebble on a beach and then been disappointed because by the time you got it home it had dried paler. Learn to compensate for this phenomenon.