How to stretch watercolor paper

How to stretch watercolor paper

What does it mean to stretch watercolor paper? Why and how would you do it? The main reason people stretch their watercolor paper, is because when it gets wet, as you paint, it expands creating cockles or wrinkles. These can make painting difficult for some people. By...
Under-painting in watercolor, its importance

Under-painting in watercolor, its importance

When painting with watercolors in my style, the under-painting (initial wash), is very important as it holds a painting together. The under-painting must be tonally correct or the painting will never look quite right. When I am painting a landscape, at the...
How to mix greens using watercolors

How to mix greens using watercolors

One of the questions I am most frequently asked by my students has to do with how to mix greens. No other color generates as much confusion regarding how it is mixed. Green is produced when you mix blue with yellow. However, as most blue and yellow pigments are not...
Plein air painting lesson – Changing light

Plein air painting lesson – Changing light

I recently went on a 5-day plein air painting trip to the town of Tumut in NSW. The weather was perfect, with the main challenge being the changing light. Unlike most other places in New South Wales, where evergreen trees predominate, around the Tumut region, there...