Pablo Picasso once said, “Painting is just another way of keeping a diary.” It is a personal momentum of your artistic expression of the world. Painting brings anyone the joy to create an artwork which speaks louder than words. It is an act itself which allows the human mind to experiment with space and mobility – working with the freedom of space to develop an artistic perspective.
Now, what is the oldest, classic and the purest form of painting – one where even children are so comfortable with? It is none other than watercolor painting!
Watercolor painting was derived from the cave paintings of Palaeolithic Europe and has also been used ever since the Egyptian times. In the past, the most common artworks of watercolor painting ranged from botanical, wildlife and landscape illustrations. In modern times, however, it is up to you to express your creativity and watercolor can give you boundless of opportunities to create different illustrations leading to a one of a kind masterpiece.
Watercolor paint is a very versatile and flexible medium which can bring the painter a variety of results. It may be a complex painting medium to master, but if you immerse yourself in the range of techniques available, it can help develop skills worthy of future artistic endeavours.
If you are looking to train yourself to be the next Edgar A Whitney, thread no further as we can enlighten you with the different techniques of watercolor painting while using specific types of brushes to apply them. You will be surprised at the different types of brushes available and the outstanding results it will yield!
1) Round Brushes
Round brushes are natural to come by as they are the most popular for watercolor painting. They are versatile making them suitable to create fine or thick lines. They are appropriate for painting small details and delicate lines, but also for wider areas. It is essential to invest in a high-quality paintbrush to get the best out of your artwork. The Kolinsky sable is notably one of the best materials out there. It works well with details and creating thin lines.
On the other hand, when you are opting for a low-cost option, round synthetic brushes will do the trick! These materials provide the brushes with the ability to “spring back” to their original shape. Their firm bristles allow the painter to create crisp lines. You can even get expressive with this type of brush by experimenting between thick and thin lines. A round brush can also easily enter tight places, for example when painting the intricate edges of flowers.
At Art Pazionate, we give you the best of the best with our watercolour painting classes in Singapore. It is a safe space for both teens and adults to express themselves while exploring their creative imagination freely.
2) Flat Brushes
Flat brushes are not as flexible as round brushes. They are most appropriate for washes and strong linear strokes. A flat brush will only provide you with strokes with fine and straight edges. The flat brush is suitable for the flat wash which is useful for any area that requires a smooth transition of color with visible brush strokes.
When using a flat brush, place the wide flat side of your brush against the paper and stroke some paint onto your paper in a wide band. You will be able to cover large areas with brush strokes like this.
You can use the exact same brush stroke when using a round brush. The difference is the width and edge control. The strokes for flats tend to be crisp and sharp while rounds tend to be looser.
Our watercolour painting classes in Singapore will teach you the different techniques you might not know existed. They are known as the graduated wash, flat wash, variegated wash and dry brush which creates interesting scopes or proportions to add in texture to your artworks.
3) Detail Brushes
Due to their short hair length, spotter brushes are suitable for painting details such as tiny dots. They are the best for painting minute details giving the painter extra control as the brush will not bend.
Apart from that, the rigger brush is a round brush with extra-long bristles. Painters will be able to receive maximum holding capacity while gaining an extra fine point to create continuous lines. This brush provides you with the perfect technique to paint animals and details of sceneries.
At Art Pazionate, our watercolor painting classes in Singapore can also be customised to your current abilities and areas of interest. If you are interested in learning a specific technique for a particular type of brush, then this is the right class for you.
4) Wash Brushes
Wash brushes are similar to flat brushes. The only difference is that they are much broader, which makes them suitable to paint over large areas of spaces. Mop and oval brushes have large heads, and they are used for blending or applying lots of paint.
In a wash watercolor painting, very wet and diluted paint is evenly mixed and disseminated to prevent uneven pigment load on the brush. The brush with the loaded paint should be applied to dry or wet support to give it a smooth finish. A wash brush is usually suitable for large areas of color.
To gain an outdoor experience, there are also water refillable brushes suitable for travel or painting outdoors. It works by just simply filling the brush with water. This takes away the hassle of bringing a water bucket along with the toolset. How convenient is that?
5) Watercolor Painting Techniques
At Art Pazionate, we go the extra mile to teach you watercolor painting techniques in our watercolor painting classes. There are a variety of techniques which can be used to give variation to your painting. You can also use different brush strokes to match with the technique which you plan to use. We have dutifully listed down for you some of the watercolor painting techniques to get you started with your art piece.
⦁ Wash
This technique is used when you dilute different parts of water with watercolor paint. This combination provides with a semi-transparent layer of color. It includes loading a paintbrush which is very wet with watercolor paint, thereafter is applied to wet or dry support such as paper or raw canvas. Washes are usually applied with large brushes over large areas.
⦁ Wet-in-Wet
Wet-in-wet can be achieved when you add wet paint into wet washes, which allows the paint to spread without any breaks. When colors are added, they flow and blend into one another perfectly, creating a diffused effect.
⦁ Dry Brush
The dry brush stroke is unique in a sense where you can play with different textures on your canvas. This stroke can start from a wet area of your painting and then run it over a dry one. This gives a textured region of ground where the painting shows a more dense and shadowed area. You can also create grass paintings or scratchy lines with the dry brush watercolor technique.
⦁ Salt
Salt can be used to mix things up! It is a great experimental tool which can be used in watercolor painting. Sprinkle salt in desired underlying areas of watercolor paint and then allow the combination to completely dry. Then, lightly brush the salt away, and there you have it, your salt painting is ready to go!
⦁ Blot
This is a unique technique to lighten the value of an area that you have just painted, adding texture to your painting. The tissue is used to fastening the blotting process and how much pressure you apply to your tissue determines the amount of watercolor that is being lifted. Other ways to use a tissue in watercolor paintings can be found here.
In our watercolor painting classes, you can learn to achieve colors in various tones by mixing paints in varying proportions and adding different amounts of water to it.
At Art Pazionate, we get right down to the specifics to nurture you into a great artist!
