Different techniques used in watercolour

by Tissa Hewavitharane

The watercolour is very sensitive to any attraction that is produced on its surface. This quality is an advantage when the techniques that provoke such changes are known.

Over the years a false mystique has been built up around the subject of watercolour painting and the practice seemed to be weighed down by rigid rules, dogma and ritual.

When using watercolours, accidents, often happen, like a scratch of paper scraping with the brush or many other incidents.

There are many techniques that are normally used to alter the surface of watercolour.

One of the most usual tools in the studio of a watercolour painter is the hair dryer. This can speed up the water evaporation from the paper. Another tool that can modify the surface of the paper is sandpaper. For instance, the dark colour is painted in the usual way. In this exercise I am going to explain some textures with sandpaper on painting of rocks.

Rocks

The colours used for the rocks can be very dark. Some techniques are done when the colour is completely dry. To accelerate the drying of the colour and work on the dark mass the paper has to be dried with a dryer.

If the paper is too wet it is wiser not to get very close with the dryer so that the colour that runs on the drying is irregular on the surface.

Rub the surface of the rock with a medium grain sandpaper. This causes the upper layer of the paper to be taken off the dry colour with it. It is not necessary to press too hard. Some areas can be kept untouched. Just rub where you want to texture the surface.

Next you can repaint on the re-texture surface with very transparent washes or with dark colours without completely covering up the surfaced area. The effects that can be achieved without watercolour can be realised on a completely dry surface, or on fresh paint.

When the paint is wet it is possible to achieve more varied results, for it is not just a question of getting rid of the paint. Depending on the type of paper, the painting can be scored with groves that do not completely take off the superficial layer.

Brush

Here an experiment will be done with fresh paint. Scratch the paper with the tip of the brush. At the opposite end to the hairs, that is to say the tip the handle, there is another very practical tool which offers many possibilities.

Different tasks can be done with the sharp end of the brush, especially when the watercolour is moist. Some brushes have a sharp tip and others have a bevelled tip, especially designed to scrape the paint. When the painted surface is still moist, start with the tip of the brush. Do not press too hard; the smallest indentation is enough to mark the paper.

The indentation made on the paper, more colour is accumulated than the rest of the surface, unless you insist several times with the brush. In this case, pass the brush over each stroke.

By so doing, instead of building up more colour, part of it is taken away and this makes the result a cleaner and finer tone.

Washing out

When the tip of the brush is pressed hard over the still moist background it is possible to open whites like those among the trees that are shown here. To make these types of marks not all brushes will do. Some have a tip that is too blunt. It is necessary to make the indentation that removes some of the paper. A sharp toothpick cloud be used.

The legend is that watercolour, once put on the paper, is there for good and cannot be altered, which is why so many would be watercolour painters do not try it.

The truth is of course very different. Whole areas or sometimes the whole painting can be washed off and repainted without any one being any wiser. If you consider watercolour is like walking on a tight-rope, this is a safety net. You will often get troubles with foregrounds.

Painting of knife

There are all sorts of ways of applying watercolour with a knife and again experimenting will show you how.

Observe the painting I have done titled, "A wayside boutique." Study the huge tree on the right. I have used the knife to scrape on a wet layer of paint. By scraping already applied paint in a sort of spreading butter motion you can produce interesting textures. Study the huge tree which is more dominant.

The trunks are produced by a series of strokes with a scraping knife. Timing is important, of the paint is too wet, the stroke will fill in and it will finish up darker than light.

Observe the fine lines used for twigs, branches or short side way strokes. I have experienced various watercolour papers repond differently to the treatment. Kent drawing paper reacts but I have experienced what or man and Bockingford drawing paper in a different way. Do try it, Turner did.

Using sponges

Many watercolour artists keep a small natural sponge while painting for all sorts of purposes. It can be used to lift almost any colour clean while the paper is still moist, such as wiping out light clouds in a darker sky. Its main use is to produce texture by dabbing it, loaded with paint, gently on to paper. Keep on experimenting and you'll find endless possibilities.

My own feeling is that it's always better to paint around our clouds, sponged out clouds always look exactly that. As to its more productive uses, it can be used to apply a wash, making sure that neither the sponge nor the paint is too wet. Try it with various consistences of paint and even with synthetic sponges, which come in coarse and fine textures.

Using stencils

Using a stencil is a very useful technique for lifting out such things as sails, seagulls and light figures. Say you want to put a white seagull in front of a rock or sky. After painting the background normally, draw your seagull on separate tracing paper overlay, cut out the shape with a sharp knife and lay the stencil carefully in position, scubbing through the hole with a damp bristle brush or sponge and lifting off the moist colour with a tissue. Do it gently and patiently so as not to damage the paper and don't use too much water or it will creep under the edge of the stencil.