Practicing your watercolor brushwork (2)
Watercolor painting technique demonstration

This section of practice is using a dry paper without wetting it. There are a few elements affect your watercolor brush marks: water saturation, how much water in the brush with the pigment; brush handling position; brush moving direction; pressure; and the brush moving speed.

Water saturation: water is the medium, it carries the pigment to travel on the surface of the watercolor paper, and bring the pigment to go deep under the watercolor paper surface to be absorbed. Water is very important part in your painting, practice with different amount of water and watch how it will change your painting methods and habits.

Brush handing position: there are basically two watercolor brush handing positions: up-right straight and lay-down side way position. The up-right straight position is what we use most often, but the side way position will give you some unusual effects and bigger coverage wash.

Brush moving direction: moving a watercolor brush forward, backward, from left to right, or from right to left. Practice these movement can increase your muscle flexibility. Using different watercolor brush moving directions in your painting for different purposes can also create vary impressions to your painting.

Pressure: pressure to the watercolor brush while you are moving it can produce different marks on the watercolor paper. With the same saturated with pigment in your watercolor brush, less pressure to the brush produce thinner line while firmer pressure to the brush will produce wider lines, and even dryer brush stroke.

Brush moving speed: slowly moving your watercolor brush will produce a even and smooth line and mark, quickly moving your watercolor brush will create a dry brush stroke.