playing with watercolors to achieve a wide variety of effects

1. Watercolor
Experimentation
Bending the rules and playing with texture!

2. Masking and Resist
• Use tape, white crayon or
masking fluid to protect
your paper from paint
• Let the painting dry
• Remove masking fluid or
tape to see the shapes that
remain blank

3. Wet on Wet
• Paint over wet
watercolor
or paper you have
painted
with plain water
• Colors bleed into
each other and
have fuzzy, blurred
edges

4. Glazing
• Paint transparent
layers of paint over
dried layers of paint
• Colors combine,
but brush strokes
stay crisp and clear

5. Dry Brushing
• Using a very dry
paintbrush, dip the
tip in wet paint
• Lightly drag your
brush on the paper
to create wispy
brush strokes

6. Gradients
• Begin with saturated
color, then add stripes
of watery paint until
the color fades
• Brush strokes should
overlap to create a
blended transition

7. Splatter
• Load your brush with
paint and hit it against
your finger over the
paper
• Be careful not to
splatter onto a
neighbor’s artwork!

8. Salt Texture
• Paint an area of your
paper with watercolor
• Sprinkle salt over the
wet paint and let it dry
• Sparkly irregular
patterns emerge when
dry!

9. Blowing Paint
• Place a large droplet of
paint on your paper
• Get close to the paper and
carefully blow the wet
paint around until it is the
shape you want
• Take breaks- don’t get
light-headed!

10. Alcohol Texture
• Always use with an
adult!
• Drip rubbing alcohol
on wet watercolors
• The alcohol will push
away the watercolor
and dry much faster,
leaving lighter shapes

11. Combine these techniques to make something amazing!