International Artist – August-September 2019

Watercolour Workshop 111

SMOOTHING OUT A WASH

A rough wet wash can quickly be made flat and even by carefully feathering

over it with a dry hake. The strokes are made in different directions and barely

any pressure is applied. The brush is dried on a towel between strokes.

SOFTENING
A MARK
Here a wet mark is gently
brushed back along its
length to lift pigment
and soften the trailing
end. Again, the brush is
completely dry and kept
so by rubbing on a towel
during the process. This is
a handy technique to draw
attention to one end of a
mark, leading the eye back
to a focal point.

What happens is the goat hair bristles quickly

soak up moisture and move pigment particles

around as you make the strokes. As soon as the

wash is even, stop brushing. In this example, the

uneven patchiness is completely removed with a

few gentle strokes of the hake brush.