Sister Lavinia Hale taught us about watercolor painting this week. Thanks, Lavinia! Here are some tips she shared:
Introduction to Watercolors
I. What is paint?
a. pigments (minerals) suspended in a medium (fluid) that helps the pigment adhere to the painting surface – like a glue
i. oil (linseed oil) – only soluble in mineral spirits, permanent when dry
ii. acrylic (acrylic polymer – plastic) – water soluble, permanent when dry
iii. watercolor (Gum Arabic) – water soluble, can be re-moistened after dry
b. some pigments are toxic – cadmiums, cobalt, and lead whites ( look on the back for the AP Nontoxic seal – children’s paints are almost always non-toxic)
i. NEVER lick your brush tip to a point!
ii. NEVER eat from the dishes you use to paint with (cups or plates), NEVER paint while eating
iii. ALWAYS wash your hands thoroughly when finished
II. Watercolors Materials
a. Medium: Gum Arabic
i. dried sap from an Acacia tree that is dissolved in water to make a solution
b. Pan or Tube?
i. since watercolors can be remoistened, they be left to air dry, or kept bottled up – it makes no difference
ii. you can leave paints on your palette indefinitely, just rewet to use
c. Brushes
i. Since watercolors are meant to be fluid and watery, you need brushes that will absorb a large amount of water, but still come to a point at the top (not fray all over the place)
ii. usually the nice ones are made out of sable (fur from a squirrel like animal)
iii. Brush anatomy: see side picture
iv. NEVER leave a brush in water
1. the head will get bent out of shape
2. the handle (usually made out of wood) will absorb water, swell, make the ferrule larger, and when the handle shrinks upon drying, the hairs will fall out!
v. Types of brushes
1. rounds – labeled from 01 to 12 or more – the smaller the number, the smaller the brush
2. flats – rectangular – labeled by size, 1/2”, 1”, etc.
3. OTHER – Japanese brushes, Sumi, Hake, anything that will make a mark
d. Paper
i. Paper should be acid free
ii. Professional paper is 100% cotton or rag (same thing)
iii. paper is labeled by the ream weight (Ream=500 sheets)
1. 140 lb. is a nice, heavy weight
iv. watercolor paper is sized – a chemical is added to the paper either internally (when it is still pulp) or externally (after it is formed) which makes is LESS absorbent – so the water and pigments float on top rather than being absorbed immediately (think paper towel)
e. Palette
i. any non-absorbent surface will do
ii. something that has wells (indentations for the individual colors to go) and a mixing surface is best
III. Watercolor Techniques
a. Dry Brush
i. a fairly dry brush is loaded with paint and brushed onto a dry area – which causes skipping, and broken color.
ii. it is usually used to add texture
b. Wet-in-Wet
i. painting into an already wet area of the paper (either painted with water before hand, or previously colored
ii. the colors will bleed and merge –the edges will soften
iii. if want the color to stay put, make sure the paper is dry and you don’t overlap anything that is wet
IV. Other Notes
a. watercolors are meant to be transparent – no white is added.
