Painting with watercolours for beginners: applications, techniques and inspirations

Watercolour paper:

Be sure to use this special paper for painting with watercolours, as the grammage, composition and structure of the paper are crucial for achieving beautiful watercolour effects (for beginners, cold-pressed paper with a thickness of at least 300g/m² is suitable). Canvas or normal paper is not suitable for painting with watercolours.

Watercolour pencil:

With this you can make preliminary sketches and delicate contours. The lines melt when they come into contact with water and are therefore no longer visible on the finished picture.

Watercolour paints:

The more watercolour paints you have at your disposal, the more ideas you can realise. It is best to make a colour chart with swatches of all your colours to get a good overview of how the dried colours look on paper.

Watercolour brushes:

Depending on the shapes you want to draw, round or flat brushes are best suited. For loose flower watercolours, for example, the round brush in size 8 is best. If you want to add fine details, you can use the round brush in size 2. The size 8 flat brush is good for backgrounds.

Water glass:

Having a glass full of water nearby is necessary for painting with watercolours to wet your brushes. You should change the water regularly as soon as it becomes too discoloured.

Mixing palette:

With a mixing palette you can mix different paint colours with each other or individual colours with water. If you don’t have a paint palette, you can use a plate or similar object.

Paper towel:

Paper towels are handy to have close by as you will occasionally use them to squeeze the brushes.

#1: Flat wash

The aim of flat wash is to create an even layer of colour over the entire surface. This can be a little difficult because watercolours dry quickly. If you are too slow and the edge of your brushstroke dries, you will get a hard line that you don't want in your painting. The trick is to paint quickly with the watercolours and have the right amount of water and paint on the brush. The brush should be completely wet with paint, but not dripping. A tip: wet the brush with clean water before dipping it into the paint.

#2: Gradient wash

The aim of the gradient wash technique is to slowly fade the colour until it is completely transparent. You start with full and dark colour at one end and thin it out until the colour is almost or completely gone.

#3: Colour gradients

Gradients are very similar to a gradient wash. However, instead of diluting the colour until it is completely transparent, a gradient wash aims to gently blend two colours together. Before you begin, you should prepare your two colours seperately by mixing them with water. Remember that the key to beautiful gradients is to work quickly and apply the second colour to the paper before the first colour has dried.

#4: Wet-on-wet

The wet-on-wet technique shows off the colour pigments of the watercolours very well. First moisten the paper with water or a water-based paint. An then dab the concentrated paint onto the surface with a brush. This technique is one of the simplest and most fun there is. You can let off steam, play with the colours and create something completely unique and unexpected every time.

#5: Wet-on-dry

The wet-on-dry technique is often used for small motifs. Here you work with wet paint on dry watercolour paper. Let the first layer dry, then intensify the colour with a second layer or paint over it with a different colour. With this technique you can create different mixtures. Make sure to use quick brush strokes so that the underlying layer of paint is not dissolved by the water.

#6: Dry-on-dry

This dry-on-dry watercolour painting technique is done by applying a lot of paint colour with relatively little water. You apply the paint with as little pressure as possible so that only the highest areas of the watercolour paper take on colour, while the lower areas remain almost colourless. For this technique to be successful, you should choose a highly structured watercolour paper.

#7: Colour Lifting

When painting with watercolours, you can also remove colour from the paper, this technique is called colour lifting. Here you "suck up" the colour again with the help of a brush. Use this technique to correct small mistakes or to set special accents in your painting. It is important that the brush is almost dry, not wet.

#8: Effects with salt

Paint any surface with watercolours and sprinkle the desired areas with fine rock salt or large sea salt. The decisive factors here are personal taste and the effect you want to achieve. Now let the paint dry completely and carefully remove the grains of salt. As salt binds moisture, crystal-like stains with pronounced water edges are created.

#9: Effects with cotton swabs

You can also use Q-tips to create great effects in your watercolour painting. Simply dab the tip of the cotton bud onto the wet paint. The cotton wool will absorb it and create beautiful patterns that you can set however you like. You can also dip the cotton bud into a different shade and place individual dabs.

#10: Effects with foil

With this technique, you place a sheet of foil (aluminium foil, plastic wrap or cling film) on the wet paint and press it lightly together. Leave the foil on the paint until it has dried before removing it and letting everything dry completely. You can use this to create completely random and beautiful patterns on the surface.

#11: Effects with a paper towel

Use a dry paper towel and gently dab or smudge the wet paint. This way you can create delicate colours and soft colour gradients.

#12: Effects with masking fluid

With the help of masking fluid, you can leave areas on the paper blank, which gives the images contrast and creates accents.

It is usually made of latex and is also called scratch crepe. Masking fluid can be made into any shape and is both water and colour repellent. It can also be removed without leaving any residue when you have finished painting.