Water Colors / basics and Techniques

2. THE COLOR WHEEL
The color wheel shows
relationships between
the colors.
Artists often use the
color wheel to help
understand how
colors relate to one
another.

3. THE COLOR
WHEEL
Primary Colors
Secondary Colors
Tertiary Colors

4. THE COLOR
WHEEL
PRIMARY COLORS
The primary colors are
red, blue, and
yellow.
Primary colors cannot
be made from other
colors.

5. THE COLOR
WHEEL
SECONDARY COLORS
The secondary colors
are orange, green,
and purple.
Secondary colors are
made from mixing
the primary colors.

6. THE COLOR WHEEL
SECONDARY COLORS

7. THE COLOR
WHEEL
TERTIARY COLORS
Mixing primary and secondary colors
creates tertiary colors.
Tertiary colors include:
Red-Violet
Blue-Violet
Blue-Green
Yellow Green
Red-Orange
Yellow-Orange
On the color wheel, the tertiary colors are
located between the primary and
secondary colors they are made from.

8. THE COLOR WHEEL
TERTIARY COLORS

10. Making Tints
and Shades
A shade of color is made
by mixing that color with
black.
A tint of color is made by
mixing that color with
white.

12. This painting by Vincent Van Gogh, Fields in a Rising Storm, has tints
and shades of blue in the sky, and tints and shades of green in the

15. ADVANCED COLOR THEORY
An element of art which has
three properties.
1) Hue, which is the name of a
color. For example, red, yellow,
blue are hues.
2) Intensity, which refers to the
brightness and purity of a
color. For example, bright red or
dull red.
3) Value, which refers to the
lightness or darkness of a color.

17. COLOR MIXING
PRIMARY + SECONDARY
When you mix the Primary Colors together, you
get the Secondary Colors.
What colors do these make?
Red + Yellow =
Red + Blue =
Blue + Yellow =
Orange
Green
Purple

23. WATERCOLOR TERMS
WATERCOLOR TECHNIQUESWatercolor Techniques

24. Dry Brush –Brush loaded with paint onto dry paper.

25. Glazing-Glazes are easy to accomplish using a
little patience between steps. You must let each
wash dry completely before applying the next
transparent layer of pigment.

26. Lifting-Removing paint from the paper using a sponge or
a soft paper towel.

27. Masking-Cover areas to preserve the white of the paper.
You can use tape or masking fluid.

28. Salt-Apply salt to wet paint areas of painting to create a
speckled texture.

29. Scratching –Scratch into wet paper to create texture.

30. Splattering-The flicking of paint onto the paper.
Stamping-Dabbing the paint onto the paper with a
sponge.

31. Wax Resist-Wax is applied to areas you want the
watercolor pigment to repel the surface.

32. Wet-in-wet-a process of adding paint into a wet area
that already has been pre-wet with clean water.