0
0

Your Cart is Empty

Home / ARTdiscount Blog
Previous  / Next

EPISODE 4 - WATERCOLOUR for Beginners - 'Flat & Fan Brush Techniques'

by Ellie Jakeman October 27, 2021

art materials materials & techniques Watercolour watercolour beginner watercolour brushes watercolour paint watercolour painting watercolour paints watercolour techniques

EPISODE 4 - WATERCOLOUR for Beginners - 'Flat & Fan Brush Techniques'

  1. EPISODE 1 - Creating a dilution chart
  2. EPISODE 2 - Creating a Colour Chart
  3. EPISODE 3 - Round Brush Techniques
  4. EPISODE 4  - Flat & Fan Brush Techniques
  5. EPISODE 5 - Glazing Techniques
  6. EPISODE 6 - Masking & Resist Techniques
  7. EPISODE 7 - Creating Watercolour Textures
  8. EPISODE 8 - Creating a Landscape painting in Watercolour

Ellie Jakeman guides you through how to use your new flat and fan brushes with mark-making, textures and patterns...
Flat Brushes are useful for both washes of colour, strong linear strokes, creating gradients and also great for blocking out colour. Large flat brushes are also great for wetting large areas of the paper in preparation for wet on wet techniques.

In the video, you can see how versatile our Artists Value Profile watercolour brushes are. They are available in 6 different sizes, and the best and most enjoyable way before you start your projects is to create a mark making investigation sheet.

Creating this sheet of investigations will enable you to experience the many techniques you can make will just one of our brushes.
Aim to create brush marks using a combination of pressures; light to heavy when applying your strokes.

See how different pressures will create different marks - use different angles to hold your brush, spread out the bristles and over lay dark colours over light to create interesting textures. Use the full belly of the brush or just the tip of your brush. Use your whole arm to make sweeping marks or use just your wrist to flick the brush on the paper. Once you have created many sheets of investigations you are ready to start you painting adventure!
 
Artists Flat Brush Techniques

Our synthetic fibre ARTdiscount Artists Value Profile Brushes are the ultimate synthetic watercolour brushes and therefore animal friendly.Crafted from Taklon, using a blend of differing hair diameters, these brushes give a combination of colour holding, precision of brush marks and endurance; ranging from a 1/8" to a size 2", it is the most comprehensive range in the Artist’s Value series.
A large wash brush (2") holds a lot of water and is just the right size to pre-wet your painting for a wet on wet start. It’s also perfect for laying in big washes of colour for skies, landscapes and seascapes. Flat brushes are excellent for creating strong lines and straight edges (such as buildings).  
ARTdiscount Artists Value Profile Brushes - Flat

Fan Brushes are great for creating textures, especially with a dry brush technique or for painting wet on wet techniques.
To create a variegated mark, the brush can be dipped in two different watercolour pigments and with short tapping movements on the paper you can created some very convincing foliage.

Dry brushing technique involves using more pigment than water and apply the paint by dragging on a dry surface resulting in a more textured mark. It's a useful technique for painting hair, grass, and fur.  To load a fan brush with paint for dry brushing techniques, take a dry brush and touch the very tips into the paint a few times. Ideally the paint won't be very fluid, but quite stiff or buttery so it sits at the end of the brush hairs and doesn't seep up.
When using a fan brush for wet-on-wet techniques you can easily disperse the paint as the fan brush holds the pigment well. Dotting technique creates a more textured outcome.

Fan Brush Techniques

Our ARTdiscount Bristle Brushes - Fan are made with  Nickel-plated brass ferrule with coloured wooden handle that is made with wood from managed forests.
ARTdiscount Bristle Brushes - Fan

PRODUCTS USED:

Ellie Jakeman
Ellie Jakeman

I have had a strong interest in the visual and creative arts since a very early age. After completing an Art and Design Degree and Post graduate studies I have taught Art and Design, Fashion and Textiles, Textile design , Fine Art print and Illustration for over 20 years. Before teaching I was a freelance artist and illustrator and decided 4 years ago I would return to freelance and commissioned work. I have created many domestic and commercial murals for hospitals and hospices. I work part time for ARTdiscount as a content creator and product tester.


Leave a comment

Comments will be approved before showing up.

Also in ARTdiscount Blog

Screen Printing, Serigraphy or Silk Screen Printing
Screen Printing, Serigraphy or Silk Screen Printing

by Ellie Jakeman January 08, 2025

block printing lino printing Mono printing POP art POP artists relief printing screen printing Screen Printing for beginners Serigraphy Silk Screen Printing
Screen printing is a method of printing images or patterns onto fabric, paper or canvas using a wooden or metal screen with an ultra fine mesh fabric stretched over the top.
Read More
Let's shine some light on the subject of ‘DayLight' lighting!
Let's shine some light on the subject of ‘DayLight' lighting!

by Ellie Jakeman January 02, 2025

Daylight Lamps Studio Light

The clocks have gone back, the nights are drawing in and we awaken to dark cold mornings. It all seems rather sad and gloomy, but read on to find out how we can overcome the gloom and still feel energised!

Read More
Vegan Art Supplies
Vegan friendly art supplies

by Ellie Jakeman December 26, 2024

Cruelty Free Cruelty Free art Environmentally Art Environmentally Friendly Art supplies FSC Tree Greener choices Information Learn not tested on animals Vegan Vegan acrylic Vegan artists brushes Vegan charcoal Vegan Inks Vegan mediums Vegan oil Vegan papers Vegan Pencils Vegan watercolour Vegetarian
Not that long ago companies didn't have traceability in their own supply chains, and they were not proactive about sustainability, thankfully that is changing!  Many companies are now contributing to a healthier planet and developing eco friendly and animal cruelty free strategies to develop their products.
Read More

Recent Articles