Keeping colours from turning muddy

by Tissa Hewavitarane

No other medium can quite match up to the unique freshness and delicacy of watercolour - that is, if you know how to handle watercolours properly. For any beginner it can be frustrating when colours that sparkle like jewels on the palette and end up looking like mud on paper.

A floral arrangement filled with radiant light colours.

Why do things go wrong? The muddy colour is the result of 'muddied' thinking. In an effort to make something look 'real' the inexperienced painter tends to fiddle about on the paper, pushing and prodding the paint and building up dense chalky layers of colour and that makes it look muddy.

When mixing colours to create a particular colour, don't be tempted to blend them so thoroughly that they become flat and lifeless. Colours partly mixed on the palette, so that the original pigments are still apparent, have a much livelier colour vibration. Try placing the pure unmixed pigments on damp paper and blending them just slightly so that they fuse together wet-in-wet. To keep it clean when pure, unmixed colour is brushed on to white paper and allowed to settle undisturbed, the effect is clear and luminous. Don't prod, poke or dab or scrub your colours once they are on the palette. Be sure of the colour you want before applying it, then brush it on quickly and confidently.

Watercolour painting is like playing golf, the fewer strokes you use, the better. For some reason, novice painters usually feel compelled to obliterate every inch of the paper with colour, yet more often than not the light reflecting surface of the paper itself has a positive part to play in the freshness and spontaneity of a watercolour painting.

Layers of transparent colour applied in thin glazes build up form without looking heavy and overworked. Areas of bare paper reflect light and act as breathing spaces. Pools of colour mixed wet-in-wet set-up warm cool colour vibrations. Thin transparent glazes allow light to reflect off the paper and up through the colours, giving them greater clarity and vibrancy.

Observe the floral arrangement which is shown here, filled with radiant light colour and excitement. Here the artist has built up his colours with thin transparent glazes, like delicate layers of tissue paper, so that they retain their freshness and sparkle.

Floral still life offers you exciting opportunities for creating dynamic compositions. Experiment with unusual view points. Try out different backgrounds. Explore the potential of colour interactions. It is the uniqueness of your correct colour mixing that will make a excellent painting.