How Watercolours work
I have written this article to help you with your watercolour painting. And yet it contains very few painting tips. So how will it help you? It will give you the technical knowledge you need about the paints you are using. Because lets face it, if you don't understand what the paint is and how it works, you are facing an uphill struggle before you have even lifted your brush!
Technical knowledge leads to success. You can bet a racing driver knows the ins and outs of car mechanics, and a top cosmetic dentist understands biology.
Of course technical stuff can seem like hard work; too much science, too much study. So I have kept it as simple as I can, and written it so you can dip in and out as you please. The article is written in modules, and the index is directly below this introduction. There is no need to wade through it all in one go! Look at the bits that interest you, and come back to it when you need more information in the future.
Because watercolour is a technical medium, and a little knowledge can go a long way. So when you need to choose the which paints to buy, when you see little granules in some of the colours, when you don't understand the symbols on the side of the tube, or wonder if the colours will fade in sunlight... Pop back here and maybe find an answer or two!
The article starts by examining what the paints are made of, and then looks at some of the properties of them in detail, giving you advice that will help you choose the best paints for you.
NOTE: The main body of this article deals with transparent watercolour paints. In other words the paint most commonly referred to as 'Watercolour' At the end of the article I look at other types of watercolour media such as Gouache and Watercolour Pencils, and explain how they are best used.
And another NOTE about language: I am English. Watercolour has a U in it, and I will not be persuaded otherwise! But I welcome my USA readers, and for the purposes of this article it matters not a jot how you spell it. Watercolour is Watercolor and vice versa.
Written By MicheleWebber
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