The wet-in-wet ...

and the dry brush technique:

By Tissa Hewavitarana

There are many watercolour techniques of wash, wet-into-wet line and wash, line and dry brush. All these techniques when combined in one painting provide a whole armoury of textural contrast. The combination overcomes the inherent limitations of each and they all complement one another. The first thing to say about dry brush technique is no to overdo it. It is very useful to produce textures and to suggest detail.

The paint is put on with the brush quickly skimming over the surface of the paper, leaving the colour on the ridges of the irregular surface. The colour and the brush itself is kept very dry and appears on the paper with hundreds of gaps which allows the paper or under painting to show through.

The dryness can be controlled by keeping a rag or paper towel handy to give a quick sweep to reduce the moisture before you work on the painting. Experiment to discover all the many textures available. Push stroke, or even pat the brush on the paper. Try holding the brush almost parallel to the paper so that the hairs barely graze it.

Many uses of dry brush

To suggest the bright shimmer of the sun on water, the texture of the pebbles on the shore, the rough bark on a tree trunk or the weathered surface of a plaster wall. Dry brush techniques are generally used on rough drawing paper, allowing the textural surface to do much of the work.

Lord a flat brush with water colour and squeeze most of it out in the palette. Blot the brush on paper towelling or other paper and stroke it lightly across the work. The surface texture will grab some of the colour leaving a pebbled trail that reflects the paper's surface, with white flecks simmering through the colour. Dry brush passages can be put on clean white paper or over a dried wash. Washes can be flooded over the dry brush work to fill in the white specks - or they can be left along.

Try to work an entire painting using only dry brush.

Not often is an entire painting done in dry brush, but it is used to express textures or show crispness against, the foil of a wet wash or smoothly applied colour.

This technique in most cases produces a monotonous surface it it covers an entire sheet, but excellent for painting foliage, coarse cloth, three bark, rocks or stone brick, or granite walls.

Painting on wet paper the wet-in-wet technique

Slurpy skies, large soft surfaces, billowy trees and surging surfs can all be flowed onto a wet sheet with a loaded brush.

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, so the fresh colour needs to be put on relatively dry, so that it stays in place.

No verbal explanation can tell how it is the process must be experienced. The wet paper is usually worked on while flat, because a slanted surface will cause colours to run toward the bottom of the sheet. Rough or textured papers generally work better than smooth.

Put the background or under painting down first and add drier and more intense colours as the painting progresses. 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 a wet sheet. Experiment with several small sheets to determine the best times to get the best effects.

Most painters who do water colours put the lightest areas down first, darkening the colours as the work continues.

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

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

Try some experimental studies on a variety of papers that have been soaked various lengths of time. Many conditions such as temperature, humidity and air movement will change the results, but some important generalities can be learned that will apply to most cases.

Important paintings using the wet-in-wet technique is used by some artists only as a part of the painting, leaving much to viewer's imagination. Next, wet your paper front and back, and apply colour wet-in-wet on the glistening paper.

Now, rock the paper back and front and let and right and also to and bottom, until the colour set in.

The drawing paper can be prepared in several ways. Heavy papers must be soaked for ten minutes or more in a large basin until limp, really wet all the way through lighter paper can be sponged with clear water, or coloured wash on both sides.

Papers can be kept workably wet during the painting. Process by laying them on a glass sheet, Formica table or non absorbent surface.

As the water evaporates and the sheet becomes drier, the edges of freshly-applied colour will grow harder and crisper.

Each artist has a pet way of speeding up or slowing down the drying time, and each developed after many years of experimenting.

The painting done here is all about the dry brush technique. Note the dry brush strokes applied on the foliage and twigs and tree trunk and on the mother and child feeding the milk.