EPISODE 5 - WATERCOLOUR for Beginners - 'Glazing 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
   
   

Welcome to Episode 5!

In this episode Ellie Jakeman shows you Glazing techniques.

In this video we have shown you two important technique for all watercolour artists, especially when using a limited colour palette. This technique can also be used with Acrylics and Oils. Glazing with watercolour is often called laying down a wash.

When using watercolour paints, to achieve excellent results you should always use watercolour paper. There are lots of different Watercolour papers on the market, the most reliable are those that say they are made from 100% cotton, or a 50% cotton mix. Your watercolour paper should be acid free to provide longevity, be heavy enough to take lots of water without buckling or warping and be white enough to illuminate your pigments through your painting. Also, good watercolour paper will allow your pigment to dry flat and not patchy. Most watercolour papers are sized internally or on the surface to improve the surface strength and provide a water-resistant surface. 

Head over to our blog for more information on 'Choosing the correct watercolour paper for your style of painting'. Also, see our guide to stetching watercolour paper here.

We have shown you two ways of applying Glazing to your work, Wet-on-wet or Wet-on-dry. 

For the Wet-on-dry technique, a layer of transparent colour is washed over a previous dry layer of paint to build up darker areas along with light areas, creating a 3D form. If you go too dark with your glazing it is easy to pull out some colour with a clean brush dipped in water. 

The Wet-on-wet technique begins with saturating the surface of the paper with water to weaken the size, providing a more absorbent surface, then dropping each colour onto the damp paper, leaving areas of white to indicate the light direction with a highlight to produce a 3D form.

Wet on dry allows you more control of the value in your colour and Wet-on-wet gives a more diffused finish to your piece of work. This is a personal preference and through practice, you will discover which technique to use depending on subject matter or your eventual artistic handwriting. Glazing wet on dry will provide you with more control within your painting. Whilst building up layers of pigment you can decide which way you want your value to go, brighter by laying down a more yellow or orange hue, or darker by adding a more blue or purple hue, or duller by adding the original hues complimentary colour on top or more vibrant by layering up the same colour.  

Products used in this series:

ARTdiscount Watercolour Sets

ARTdiscount artists value brushes-Round

ARTdiscount Artists Value Brushes-Flat

ARTdiscount Bristle Brushes- Fan

ARTdiscount Watercolour Paper

ARTdiscount Masking Fluid