Kringen asked recently: “I have a tendency to get a bit muddy, when I go back over things. Tips to avoid this?”
Actually, I did not find Kringen’s work muddy in the least. That said, I often quip that “all watercolour is a slow march toward mud”. Keeping some vibrancy and holding off that sense of things getting overworked is a constant for all of us. Here are 10 ideas to keep in mind:
- Retain some white space – white space is of course the antithesis of overworking;
- Keep it simple with a light touch, particularly in the lighter areas and save working for the more forgiving darker areas;
- Avoid greys and tonal colours – a particular problem with Paynes grey is that it’s so easy to become too reliant on it and create a ringing dullness;
- Favour good quality transparent pigments, especially in washes. Glazing with chalky, opaque pigment will result in a certain pastiness;
- Keep overlapping washes in the same colour sector – that said, I do at times wash on a complementary colour at the end, braking the rules – a one time chance!
- Make sure the previous washes are dry – really dry, as dullness comes from saturated mixing;
- Avoid the “busy brush”, that is, working back and forward and driving the paint into the paper – this takes some discipline!
- Stop often to assess the effect before adding additional wash – this is related to the above point really;
- Keep the paper on an angle, say a minimum of 15 degrees – preventing the water from puddling;
- Stop well before you think you’re done!
Break-a-Brush!
David