The technique of watercolor painting (basics)

In the old times they painted watercolor paintings on the parchment from the bleached skin, on the thin plates done from ivory, which is used for the miniatures now, or on the flaxen bleached cloths and considerably later watercolor paintings are done on the paper.

Now watercolor paintings are done as a rule only on the paper. From the XIV century ancient paper was made of fibers of flax and quality of watercolor paintings were rather high.

From beginning of the 17th century for the production of paper for watercolor, they began to use cotton, which had no so good standard as line, and the quality of paper for watercolors had changed for worse.

Now we have a lot of types of paper for watercolors. Nowdays paper is made not only of cotton and flax, but also from such materials as a wood of coniferous trees and straw.

But flax and cotton nevertheless remain the most valuable materials for watercolor paintings. Many types of paper consists of plant cellulose tissue, gypsum, spar, chalk, kaolin, aqueous alumina, white lead, and also for masking paper’s yellow blue color they add ultramarine and the Berlin blue.

Paper pulp is connected together by meal paste, starch, animal glue and rosin. In the old times they used exceptionally meal paste, which is the most resembling material for watercolor paintings.

Nowadays they use more frequently gelatin. The paper, pasted by gelatin, rapidly blooms and covers with spots under the effect of the dampness.

A lot of chemical substances are used now for the paper producing and it frequently makes negative influence on its covering.

Watercolor painting needs a good quality paper. Paper that is produced of wood and straw rapidly turns into brown or black in the light; that is why it is not completely suitable for watercolor paintings.

Cotton paper has no this negative feature but it is not possible to wash it and scrape, so paint doesn’t lay down smoothly on watercolor paintings.

The only suitable by paper for the watercolor painting appears the flaxen paper, which has irreproachable whiteness.

There must not be any chemical substances, and it must not rapidly suck. On this paper the paint lies down smoothly and it became bright very fast, it is also possible to wash paper off and to scrape it.

The tracks of the fat can stay on the paper's surface, which prevents the distribution of paint. So before starting to paint with watercolors, the surface of paper should be washed in the distilled water with several drops of ammonium hydroxide.

If a good flaxen paper is tuned a little yellow it can be

easily bleached in hydrogen peroxide.

Watercolor technique is similar with tempera and even fresco by its complications. But there are a lot of the methods that make the process of watercolor painting much more easily.

For examples: in order to avoid covering the paper with waves (because you wet it) it is possible to stretch paper to the cardboard.

Palettes and brush Palettes for the water colors are made of white porcelain or faience and they have a smooth bright surface.

Also it is possible to use a metal, covered with white enamel.

Frequently you can see plastic palettes as well.

Brushes for the watercolor painting are made of only from the soft and elastic hair.

Brush must be soft and elastic at the same time. Such as column, squirrel or polecat brushes.

Brush must have a round shape, and then you make it wet, it should take the form of cone with the completely sharp end.

Boards and stirators During gluing paper on the board you should be bent on the edges of the sheet (2-3 cm.) in the opposite direction its face side.

Then the face side, on which there will be the painting, should be moistened by water, and those flanged edges you should leave dry.

Do not need to wet the side, which closer to the board as can flow in to the opposite side and stick sheet on the plane-table, so it will not be possible to remove the finished watercolor from the board.

Those bent edge must be glued from inside by glue. Be careful not to allow to enter the air under the paper, otherwise during drying it will warp.

And also you shouldn’t stretch wet paper to hard - it can crack when it will dry, wet waves will disappear by themselves when the watercolor paper will dry.

It is necessary thoroughly to stick edge on the plane-table, without making passages.

Otherwise in these places waves will come out. For the small watercolor paintings you can use stirators, which can be two forms.

One is the usual board, which is put into the wooden frame. Paper is superimposed on the board and is bent on its edges, and then this board is framed.

It is not necessary to use any glue. The second form is two wooden frames, which enter one into one, like the tambour for the embroidering.

Paper is superimposed on the smaller frame and is pressed by the bigger one.

How to keep watercolor paintings.

The thin layers of water color paintings can be easily decolorized. The majorities of transparent paints is not durable.

However, they are beautiful! So artists can not stop using them. You shouldn’t put watercolor painting on the sun light.

As it loses paint, and paper loses its whiteness. Water color painting you should keep in moderate sun lighted and place.

It is necessary to preserve it under the glass (watercolor painting must not touch the glass).