INTRODUCTION
Watercolour paints are made from either
natural pigments found in the earth, clay, minerals or from synthetic pigments
which have been finely ground and held together with water soluble based ‘gum
binders’.
Watercolour painting is an art form that
creates artistic representation usually on paper using pigment that are water-soluble.
Other
forms of painting use oil soluble paints or dry pigment in sticks, such as
pastels. Watercolour painting is widely practiced by children whose activities
are performed with boxed sets of coloured pans and coloured blocks are swiped
with a wet brush. As this is done the pigment transfers itself to the wet brush
and thence to the paper.
Watercolour painting employs a variety
of different techniques specific to the medium. The most characteristic are
perhaps the technique known as wet-in-wet, in which large portions of a wash of
colour with plain uncoloured water. The brush is loaded with pigment from the
palette and either dropped or stroked into the paper it will bloom into
interesting and unexpected pattern merging with previous applications of other
colours and forming new shades. Wet-in-wet watercolour painting is difficult to
control, however it can yield some of the most surprising and satisfying
results. When exploring with watercolour painting it is advisable to use ‘artist
garde’ tubes of watercolour paint. Most paint manufacturers offer a student
garde line that is significantly cheaper, but this paint will not produce the
same results which can be disheartening to the beginner. Rather than buying a
more complete palette of cheaper paint purchase a smaller number of high
quality paint since almost any shade can be created by mixing together two or
more other colours. For instance when mixing a truly dark black shade by blending
red and green pigments most watercolourist do not even keep a tube of black
watercolour paint in their paint box.
HISTORY OF WATERCOLOUR PAINTING
Although the use of watercolour dates
back to prehistoric times. It was not until A.D 500 that watercolour painting
came to be considered a fine-art, when Chinese painters helped it evolve from
being primarily a decorative craft in the West, Albrecht Durer (1471-1528) was
been credited with upgrading the level of watercolour. Albrecht Durer was
primarily a printmaker, he was looking for a way to colour areas of his prints
but he ended up using a combination of transparent and opaque (gouache) in
water-colour drawings. Chalk was often added to a watercolour to give a
stronger quality, this explains the flat and linear appearance of his water
colour. Since opaque colours do not readily subject to shading.
J.M.W
Turner Girtin was a technical innovator who took full advantage of the newly
developed synthetic mineral pigments that were beginning to find their way into
artist palette. J.M.W Turner Girtin applied these new transparent and opaque
watercolour techniques with sponges, rags and knives with brushes. Joseph
Mallord William Turner (1775-1851) explored the dynamic and sensuous element of
nature-storm, wind, sky and water.
Turner splashed, scratched and paint around, by blending the medium to his
taste.
The
information gotten from the internet stages that watercolour painting is a
method of using water-soluble pigments to create artistic representation on a
surface. Adeyemi Victor, Ajiboye Samuel A.k Peter contribution is that
materials are tools or device that the artistic uses in expressing and transforming
his ideas into reality. Philip Berrill is a professional artists, art tutor, lecturer
and author whose techniques and methods of learning to paint are taught and
enjoyed worldwide. Philip is experienced in painting everything from miniatures
to murals. Angela Gair Tiger author of a number of books a step-by-step guide
to watercolour techniques.
Modern watercolour are manufactured by
first preparing a mill-base which is a mixture of raw pigment in gum Arabic and
wetting agent as well as a plasticizer, such as glycerin to help keep the
colour from drying out fast. Gum Arabic is a thick resin obtained from the
acacia tree which comes in small pieces which are tied in cheesecloth and
soaked over night in water to produce gum solution.
A
base paint will be produced by grinding the mill-base with additional medium
(gum Arabic) in a series of rollers, which may be made of iron, stone or
ceramics. It is said that too much grinding and too little grinding reduces the
brilliance of colour that can produce a gritty consistency.
MATERIALS USED IN WATERCOLOUR
PAINTING
Materials
are the tools or device that the artist uses in expressing and transforming his
ideas into reality.
PAINT
Watercolour paints are a finely ground
mixture of pigment, gum Arabic (a water soluble gum from the acacia tree),
glycerin (which helps keep the colours moist) and wetting agents (which help the
paint flow freely). When the paint is diluted with water on the palette and
applied as a wash by brush on to the surface of the paper it has a translucent
quality which is a features of the medium. Water colours are available in three
forms:
v Tubes
v Small
pans
v Square
or rectangular dishes of solid colour.
Tubes
are more convenient for studio use and small Pans of colour are convenient for
out door work.
Fig
1: Display of watercolour tubes and
pans
Source: Everyone’s guide to watercolour painting
Medium: Photograph
Artist: Philip Berrill
BRUSHES
Painting
brushes are used to apply Hue
in painting and they are made from animal hair or synthetic fibre.
There are two types of brushes and they Hog and sable brush.
Hog Brush: -
The hair in the hog brush is tough, strong and harsh, hog brushes are found in
different sizes. They are suitable for paper and canvas paintings.
Sable Brush:
the hair in the sable brush is soft and tender they are made form animal hair,
and are flexible when painting, they are in series of (01-12) the smaller the
size much narrower the hair.
Fig 2: Various types of brushes
Source: Everyone’s guide to watercolour painting
Medium: Photograph
Artist: Philip Berrill
PAPER
A
wide variety of water colour paper is available both in single sheet, pad and
blocks. The choice of paper depends largely on the subject and the technique
used for the effect required. Paper varies in surface texture and in weight
(thickness). The surface texture of paper is known as it ‘tooth’. There are
three kinds of surfaces.
1. Hot-pressed surface:
This is very smooth with almost no tooth and it is suitable for finely
detailed work which most artist find its surface too slippery for pure water
colour painting.
2. Not hot- pressed surface:
This is the most popular type of surface and it is ideal for less experienced
painters. Its medium textured surface is good for both large, smooth washes and
for fine brush detailing.
3. Rough surface:
This paper has a very pronounced surface and is ideal for bold and free flowing
objects.
The weight of water colour paper is
calculated by how much imperial sheets of paper weigh and the thicker the sheet
the heavier the paper. As a guide, the lightest water colour paper is 150gsm
while a heavier grade is 300gsm.
4. Water colour block surface:
This consists of sheet of paper stuck together on the edges of all four sides
to prevent cockling. They are very useful when you do not want the bother of
stretching paper when working out door. When the painting is finished you
simply tear off the top sheet.
Fig
3: Surfaces of watercolour papers
Source: A step-by-step guide to watercolour
techniques
Medium: Photograph
Artist:
Angela Gair
PALETTES
Palettes saucers are useful for mixing large
amount of colour; these are small ceramic dishes, either divided into four
compartments for laying out separate colours. You could also improvise with an
old white china plate, which will give plenty of room for mixing.
Fig 4: A palette
Source: A step-by-step guide to watercolour techniques
Medium: Photograph
Artist: Angela Gair
ACCESSORIES
You will need
a soft pencil (3B or 2B for drawing; a kneaded eraser for erasing pencil lines
without spoiling the surface of the paper, soft tissues or a natural sponge for
mopping up excess water and lifting out colour, and also for applying paint when
you want a textured effect. Cotton buds for lifting small areas of colour, jars
of water, a drawing boards, gum strip
for stretching paper, and masking fluid for reserving light or white areas in
painting.
Fig
5: Accessories used in watercolour
painting
Source: Everyone’s guide to watercolour painting
Medium: Photograph
Artist:
Philip Berrill
TECHNIQUES USED IN WATER COLOUR
PAINTING
PAINTING WITH RAGS
Painting with rags is when working on a large
sheet of paper with a rag dipped in watercolour paint and then wrapped a round
your finger, they is no rule that says you have to paint with a brush. The
fingers are sensitive tools because they more or less in direct contact with
the paper when painting with rags you find yourself working more boldly and
intuitively making fluid and decisive
marks. Irregular mottled textures and patterns can be obtained by dabbing paint
unto the paper with a sponge or crumbled piece of rag.
Rags and sponges are also useful for the
rapid application of paint over large areas and for the smooth blending of
tones and colours as the following can be used expressively in a line and wash
painting. The texture and markings of the cat’s fur are built up with paint
smeared on with a rag and then brush lines are used to define the form of the
cat and to suggest background.
Fig
6: painting with rags (Mr. Billl
Asleep)
Source: A step-by-step guide to watercolour
technique
Medium: Photograph
Artist:
Kay Gallway
MASKING OUT
Masking
fluid is a diluted rubber solution which is sold in bottles and is slightly
tinted so that you can se where it has been applied. When brushed onto the
paper it dries quickly to form a water resistant film, protecting the areas
which are to remain white once it is dry, you can ignore the white shapes completely
and paint around them when the painting is completely dry, remove the rubbery
mask by rubbing gently with a finger tip revealing the untouched paper
beneath.
If you intend using masking fluid,
choose a paper with a medium surface which the rubbery solution is easily removed,
but it is not suitable for use on rough papers as it sinks into the
indentations and cannot be peeled off completely. On smooth (hot pressed papers
the danger is that the surface will be spoiled by the action of rubbing away
the mask.
Always use an old brush to apply masking
fluid, and wash it in warm soapy water immediately after use to prevent the
bristle from drying hard on the bristles.
Fig
7: Masking out (summer courtyard)
Source: A step-by-step guide to watercolour techniques
Medium: Paper (watercolour)
Artist:
Mark Topham
WORKING FROM LIGHTEST TO DARKEST
Water
colour is a transparent light colour which cannot be painted over dark ones the
dark areas has to be built up gradually by overlaying colours in successive layers
when working on papers the highest tones are applied first and left to dry,
then progressively darker tones are built up where required leaving the highest
areas intact. This technique requires a little patience because it is essential
to allow each layer of paint to dry before applying the next colour because it
will simply mix the crispness and definition will be lost. To speed up the
process use hair drier on a cool-to-warm setting.
Remember also that the characteristic
freshness and delicacy of the medium is lost if too many washes are allowed to
build up. So always test your colours on scrap paper before applying them to
the painting with confidence, it will be more successful than colours muddled
by constant reworking.
Fig 8: Working
from the lightest to darkest
Source: Personal
painting
Medium: Paper (watercolour)
Artist: Researcher
WET INTO WET
Water
colour reputation as a spontaneous, unpredictable medium is based largely on
the effects produced by working wet-into-wet. In this technique, colours are
applied into each other while they are still wet so that they can blend
together softly with no hard edges. It is one of the most satisfying method to
work with producing lively colour mixtures.
This
technique is ideal for painting large expenses of soft colour, for example in
skies and misty landscapes. When painting delicate subject-flowers, a fruit,
shapes in the far distance-wet-into-wet allows the colours to blend on the
paper without leaving hard edge.
For
this technique it is best to use a heavy- grade paper (410gsm/200lb or over)
which will bear up to frequent applications of water without warping. Lighter
papers will need to be stretched and tapped to the board and moisten the paper
with clean water using a large brush or soft sponge.
This
technique is not for the faint – hearted, you must work quickly and confidently
charging the colours onto the paper and allowing them to spread and diffuse to
their own accord. Wet-into-wet is only partially controllable, which is part of
the excitement–but you can tilt the board to create interesting patterns of
diffusion. The colour will dry much 
lighter than
it appears when wet
lighter than
it appears when wet
Fig
9: Wet into wet
Source: Personal painting
Medium: Paper
(watercolour)
Artist: Researcher
RESERVING WHITE AREAS
You
cannot add a light colour over a dark one in water colour, you must first
decide where the brightest highlights are to be and paint around them. In this
way you preserve the white of the paper with its brilliant light-reflecting
properties.
When you paint around an area to be
reserved for a highlight it will dry with a crisp hard edge. If you want a
softer edge you can blend it into the white area with a damp brush while the
paint is still wet.
Another method of creating highlight is
by gently removing the colour from a wash while it is still wet using a soft –
brush, a sponge or a tissue.
This technique called
Lifting up is useful for creating softer and more diffused highlights
such as the white tops of clouds. However, it is not always possible to regain
the white of the paper with this method of some watercolour pigments such as
alizarin crimson and sap green actually stain the paper and so will always
leave a residue of colour. Always use lifting up motion when lifting out because
rubbing may damage the surface of the paper.
Small highlights which are difficult to
reserve can be achieved by masking the area prior to painting.
Fig
10: Reserving white areas
Source: Still life with fruits
Medium: Paper
(watercolour)
Artist: Rivka Sinclair
CHARACTERISTICS OF WATER COLOUR
PAINTING
1.
Water colour as a medium is flexible
and versatile; you can create bright or soft delicate colours.
2.
It is easy to set-up
3.
A short time drying
4.
When working with water colour it has
little or no mess
5.
Water colour could be concentrated if
you use with little water
6.
Water colour is easy to blend and
mistakes are really forgivable.
7.
It spreads out easily if the artist
uses more water.
8.
They can be exciting and challenging
as well.
CONCLUSION
For
novice painters keen on learning it is advisable that artist should not be
discouraged when they cannot virtually control the effect of the water colour.
However, artist must know that good watercolourist practice a lot and they
eventually enjoy the spontaneity of good results.
REFERENCES
ADEYEMI Victor Ade et al, (2006) Simple
approach to visual art.
ALBRECHT Durer (1471-1528) Upgrading
the level of watercolour.
ANGELA Gair Tiger (1994) Step by step
guide in watercolour painting technique.
J.M.W Tunner (1755-1802) Technical
innovator
JOSEPH Mallord (1755-1851).
PHILIP Berrill (1996) Everyone’s guide
to watercolour painting, Italy Ravett publisher limited.
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