Keeping your watercolour fresh looking! JanGGregory artworks.com

Have you ever wondered how some artist manage to keep there watercolour paintings looking fresh , the colours so true,

It is something we are have probably all thought about at some point! Using limited pallet’s can be one way of doing this ! Some Artists are fab at this for ex Matthew Palmer! He has on line workshops normally on a weekend! great value, where he uses limited pallet of colours Red,yellow,blue

where he explains how to mix them to achieve some great secondary colours! My tips would be.

1 Check out a few artists

2. make sure you buy the best quality paint you can afford only buying what you need perhaps

Red,Blue,Yellow,white, the white is for mixing or highlights! 3. clean brushes, use 3 Jars filled with clean fresh water! The first to do the first rinse, the second to do the next rinse, third to do the final rinse .

4. Have kitchen roll handy to wipe clean your brushes.

5. Start with single colour washes allow these to dry before you attempt to put another colour over it or near it this will ensure your colours stay true ! 6. do not mix too many colours together as this is when you start to create a mud effect, unless your wanting that type of effect , remember that by mixing a colour over others sometimes can create harmony

Try this out ! take some colour make a two inc square, allow to dry , leave a gap of half an inch then take another colour repeat, then another colour & repeat until you have about 6 two inch squares all half an inch apart then take a colour you have not got in those squares for example an orange then take this colour use a large flat brush about half an inch wide go right along the six squares , along the top of each , now allow this to dry . The colour from each of the squares shows through giving a harmonious colour of each so that you can use more colours together.

How did you do ? 7. Always make a colour wheel using the primary colours from your pallet, like the one shown belo.

You can see how your paint reacts on paper

P =Primary colour

S =Secondary colour

T= Tertiary colour

from this you can also see the cool & warm colours.