5 Essential Watercolor Techniques for Beginners

Fun Facts: Did you know that back in the Stone Age, early humans had their own watercolor techniques? They sure did.

They used charcoal, ochre, and other natural pigments to paint cave walls. They did it with their fingers, sticks, and even bones. Their paintings were mostly humans and animals.

Ancient Egyptians also used water-based paints to decorate the walls of temples and tombs. Once papyrus (paper) was invented, it became popular to paint using that.

As modern-day humans, we will delve into the five essential watercolor techniques that you will want to learn.

Let’s talk about it!

Wet-on-Wet Watercolor Techniques

These wet-on-wet watercolor techniques involve applying wet paint to wet paint or paper. This watercolor technique provides blooms and bleeds to create a beautiful effect.

There are several ways to use these watercolor techniques.

1. Drop-in: With either just water on the paper or wet watercolor, take your brush and let the paint drop from the tip of the brush onto the wet area will provide a beautiful contrast. You will start with a light color on the paper or just water, and let a darker color drop in and it will bloom and bleed into the existing wetness. (See Figure 1)
2. Touch: This is where 2 wet areas slightly touch and blend into each other. Keep this in mind when painting layers as you want your first area to dry before adding a second layer, or if you want to paint an object next to a wet one, it will bleed or blend the two. What I love most with the touch technique is when I want to make a treeline, or bushes in the background. I create them over the wet area to let them bleed outwards. (See Figure 2)
3. Water Wash: When you spread water on your paper like a wash, you can then take your pigment and drop or touch it in there and let it spread over the wetness. You can also take plain water and wet just a certain section and then touch or drop your paint in there and will stay only within the wet section. (See Figure 3)

I use the wet-on-wet watercolor techniques a lot when I paint, especially landscapes. The fact that anywhere the pigment doesn’t spread, it leaves some of the whiteness of the paper which is great for skies and other areas you don’t want total color, and you also don’t want straight lines as well.

I have seen many who are new to watercolor get upset when their painting blooms. It sort of looks like a big blotch, but in watercolor art, they are beautiful and add to the effect of the painting.

Wet-On-Dry Watercolor Techniques

Wet-on-dry is another one of the watercolor techniques that involves applying wet paint to a dry surface. It’s a common technique that can be used to create precise lines, textures, and details.

Wet-on-dry gives you more control and won’t bleed or bloom. When using this watercolor technique, you want your brush wet, but not soaking wet. Your paper also needs to be dry.

Depending on what you are painting, like fine detail in a darker color, you want your paint to have a thicker consistency. For a lighter effect, less color, and more water. (See Figure 1 & 2)

Remember, you don’t want your paintbrush dripping wet. You will though take your brush and get the belly of the brush full of your pigment. Your brush should glide over the area. If you drag it, it will create a thicker line than what you wanted.

You will paint from the tip of your round brush to make those fine details. The paint that you put in the belly of the brush will come down to the tip.

Dry Brush Watercolor Technique

This example of watercolor techniques is simply having your brush just wet enough to get your pigment onto your brush and transferring it to a dry part of your painting.

You want to be careful that it does not reactivate the dry paint you may already have on your paper.

Your brushstrokes should be light and not the full belly of the brush. You will also want to move your brush quickly over the area.

This will only work well if the part you are dry brushing is dry. If your painting is even damp it will not give the effect you want to have. Practicing this watercolor technique will help you to understand how it works.

I always have paper towels next to me when I paint. This helps to get some of the excess water off my brush before I take it on paper for this technique. I just blot my brush and then begin to paint the area I want to dry brush.

Examples of times you want to dry brush are making waves in an ocean scene, or fanning your brush to make wisps on trees. I also dry brush to make grasses in landscapes and along river/stream banks.

One of my favorite watercolor artists to follow online is Louise De Masi, and she has a great post on dry brush watercolor.

Gradient Wash Watercolor Technique

A gradient wash in watercolor is another of the watercolor techniques. This type of painting style gradually fades a color from full to transparent.

Creating a gradient wash in watercolor is a foundational type of watercolor technique that adds depth and dimension to your artwork. It involves seamlessly transitioning from one color to another or from a saturated tone to a light wash.

Here’s how to achieve this beautiful effect:

1. Start by securing your watercolor paper on a board with tape, slightly tilting it to allow gravity to help with the flow of the paint.
2. Begin with a wet brush, dipping it into your first color, and apply a generous amount of paint at the top of your paper.
3. Then, with a clean, damp brush, gently pull the color downwards, gradually adding water to your brush as you move to dilute the paint.
4. The key is to work quickly while the paint is still wet to ensure a smooth transition.
5. For a two-tone gradient, rinse your brush before picking up the second color and apply it below the first, blending where they meet with a clean, damp brush to create a seamless transition.
6. Allow the wash to dry completely without tilting or disturbing the paper to prevent unwanted streaks or blooms.

Practicing this technique will enable you to create beautiful skies, calm seas, and softly blended backgrounds, making it look more realistic and also capturing the mood of the painting. (See Figure 1 )

Remember, the best part of watercolor is that you never know where it is going to take you when you practice these techniques.

Watercolors is the first and the last thing an artist does.

Willem de Kooning

Lifting Off Watercolor Techniques

These watercolor techniques are great for correcting mistakes and also adding highlights.

There are several different types of lifting off, and here are four of them:

1. Wet lifting: Dab a clean cloth, paper towel, or tissue over wet paint. This is the quickest way to fix mistakes because the paint pigment hasn’t had time to settle in the paper. This not only fixes mistakes but also makes great white puffy clouds! (See Figure 1)
2. Brush and water: Wet the area with a brush and let it sit for 10-15 seconds. Next, take your brush, clear water, and a gentle scrubbing motion. (be careful you don’t rip your paper) Blot carefully with a drier brush or tissue as you go. Depending on how much pigment is there, I may just gently swipe the area with a clean wet brush and quickly dab with tissue. (See Figure 2)
3. Alcohol: Add a few drops of rubbing alcohol to the area. The alcohol reacts with the water and pushes the watercolor away, creating a whiter space.
4. Scraping: Use a knife or thumbnail to scrape away dried pigment and expose the paper below. Again, be careful not to rip your paper.

Practice makes perfect. As you journey along your path to becoming a watercolor artist, I encourage you to practice these watercolor techniques.

To see what paints you may want to work with, I wrote a blog post about 5 types of watercolor paints.

If you haven’t already, don’t forget to subscribe to my newsletter for weekly tutorials and free templates to paint along with me!

Stay Colorful, Stay Creative, and HAVE FUN!

~Laurie

If you are enjoying this post, please Pin these to your Pinterest Page. It helps my page very much! Thank you!