72 Beginner | TECHNIQUES
Graduated wash
DILUTING COLORS IN WASHES
Watercolor pigment can be manipulated
with just water and gravity to run freely
over the paper, creating beautiful effects
that are unique to the medium. A graduated
wash fades as the pigment becomes
progressively diluted, making this an
especially effective technique for
painting skies and indicating distance.
Two ways to lay a graduated wash
The most common way to lay a graduated wash is
to brush clean water into the paint as you work down
the paper, but stripes or bleeding may occur if the
paper dries unevenly. Wetting the paint on the paper
with a spray bottle avoids this.
You will need
Indian red
Burnt umber
Cadmium
lemon
French
ultramarine
Cobalt blue
Estuary scene
PUTTING IT INTO PRACTICE
A graduated wash is ideal for a day when mist
reduces a complicated landscape to just a few
tonal passages. Use a large brush and tilt the
paper at an angle of about 45 degrees.
No. 10 soft-hair mop brush
No. 5 soft-hair round brush
Spray bottle
11 x 15 in (28 x 38 cm) cold
press 140 lb (300 gsm)
watercolor paper
Separating paint
2
Add the boats and banks
Starting at the horizon, with the same mix but adding a
touch of cadmium lemon, paint in the distant and foreground
banks and highlight the boat shapes. Use less lemon as you
work down toward the mud banks.
1
First loose washes
With a mix of French
ultramarine and burnt umber,
start from the top of the page
and work downward, to
create a graduated wash by
dipping the mop brush in
clean water before each
horizontal stroke. Allow
to dry.
Using the brush
Working from top to bottom
and painting from left to right
(if you are right-handed), lay
a stroke of paint with a wet
brush on dry paper. With each
successive stroke, dilute the
same mix with one dip of
the brush into clean water.
Spraying
Using a spray bottle to wet
the paint gives a smooth and
even result. Using two colors
in the mix sometimes results
in them separating into a
lovely haze.
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3
Describe details
Once dry, use the round brush and a
stronger mix of French ultramarine and burnt
umber to add details such as the boats, masts,
and posts and the shadows on the banks.
5
Strengthen the foreground
When the painting is dry, add a foreground
wash using the mop with a mix of French
ultramarine, burnt umber, and a touch of
Indian red.
4
Graduated wash for wet mud
To create the feeling of wet mud, add a
graduated wash of cobalt blue using the spray
bottle and allow the mud to merge with the
water. Guide the paint down with the mop.
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