Artist’s Back to Basic – July 2019

colour can be added if necessary.

If you use too many colours for the

main colour it will be muddy and

also difficult to rematch. Try to keep

the colour clean. The Waratah colour

study has used only 4 colours:- Burnt

Umber, Van Dyke Brown (mixed from

Burnt Umber + French Ultramarine),

Permanent Rose and Cadmium

Lemon. Experiment with colour mixing.

Note there is also some Permanent

Rose overglaze on the stem.

Watercolour Painting Techniques

The larger the area to be painted,

the larger the brush required. The

area should be covered without

redipping the brush in paint as this

causes “tide” lines and streaky

and uneven washes. A wash is

simply a layer of watercolour

paint. The intensity of the colour

is built up by multiple washes.

Before applying the first diluted

wash, dampen the watercolour

paper slightly. This allows the paint

to move smoothly over the paper.

Load the brush by allowing it to

absorb as much paint as possible.

Remove excess paint from the brush

on the side of the palette so the

brush retains a point. Do not use

plates to mix colour, as the diluted

washes will run into one another.

Use a palette with sections.

After you have matched the

colour required, dilute this with

water and that is your first wash.

Do not paint one area at a time

and finish it. Build up the

washes of the various colours

for each component at the same

time. Continue until the colour

intensity is right. There may be

as many as six or seven washes,

especially with darker colours.

When mixing

colour always

begin with the

lighter colour and

add the darker

colour to this.

Use a small piece

of watercolour

paper to check

the colour before

applying it to the

colour charts.

Above left and Right: Third rule

Right: One point perspective

Opposite page:

Top: Perspective in clouds

Middle: Perspective

inthe landscape

Bottom: Perspective,

composition and focal areas

Drawing Basics