Lesson video

(no audio) <v ->Hi there.

How are you doing?</v> I hope you're good today.

My name is Dr.

Jones and I'm delighted to be your art teacher.

For this session today, which is all about experimenting with wet media, specifically watercolour.

This is part of our art and design unit about foundation workshops, an introduction to the areas of study.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I certainly have.

So our outcome for today is to learn how to use masking, glazing, and blending techniques to create a layered watercolour painting.

Some of the key words that we'll be learning and referring to in this session are masking, which is a technique used to block out areas of the paper you want to keep, white or light.

By using a barrier that stops paint from soaking into those areas.

Blotting, this is the act of gently lifting wet paint from the paper using either a tissue, a sponge, or a dry brush.

Wash, this is a smooth, even layer of watered-down paint applied across a large area.

Glazing, this is a technique where a thin, transparent layer of paint is added over a dry wash.

It builds up colour and depth without covering the details underneath, so you can still see through that layer of paint.

Wet-on-wet, this is a technique where you add wet paint into another area of wet paint.

The colours mix and spread naturally on the paper, creating soft edges, blends, and interesting effects.

So for our lesson today, we're going to be dividing the learning into two learning cycles.

The first learning cycle, will be masking to preserve light tones.

So let's dive right in.

Lucas is planning a watercolour painting.

He says, "Watercolour blends easily creating both unexpected mixes as well as controlled gradients.

I like that it's transparent so I can layer colours to build depth." How might artists change the way they work because watercolour is transparent? You can pause the video while you discuss with somebody.

(no audio) Thank you for sharing your answers.

You're correct.

Watercolour can be layered and different techniques can be applied.

So for example, in figurative artwork, we might use a range of different watercolour techniques.

Artists can also use watercolour techniques in abstract and non-representational art as well.

What do you notice about the way in which this artist has applied watercolour? You can pause the video while you think and discuss with somebody.

(no audio) Well done.

If you notice any of these different aspects, there are layered, visible brush marks which create texture.

It almost creates that effect of feathers and that feeling of softness.

Softness and textures created through wet-on-wet techniques.

There's various layers of colour that can be seen by creating depth through layering.

The light tone of the paper is preserved to create highlights.

Watercolour is transparent, so artists paint the lightest areas first and gradually build up to the darker tones.

The light colour of the paper may be preserved to produce highlights.

Here, we can see two different approaches.

With this first approach, the lightest colours are painted on first, and then the darker colours are painted on last.

However, in this approach, the darker colours are painted on first and the lighter ones over the top.

Artists can exploit the properties of watercolour to create artwork.

John Minton's 'Hot pickers' created in 1945 employs wax resist to create texture and tone.

Elizabeth Peyton's 'David' made in 2017 builds up forms using carefully place marks and brushstrokes.

Another example, is Akash Bhatt's, 'Local Cityscapes' that apply acrylic, alongside watercolour to gain a variety of textures.

And lastly, Anong Migwams Beam's 'Your Place or Mine' made more recently in 2023 combines watercolour with photo transfer to create a sense of place.

So why do artists paint the lightest areas first when using watercolour? Is it A: Because dark areas are easier to build upon with layers of paint? B: Starting light, then adding dark tone helps to create texture? Or C: Watercolour is transparent, so it's difficult to lighten dark areas? You can pause the video while you have a think.

Well done, If you said C.

You're correct.

Watercolour is transparent.

So it is difficult to lighten darker areas.

That's why artists typically build up to the darker tones last.

Artists can also use blotting to lighten wet watercolour.

A blotted area is lightened and paint is partially removed.

It can leave a pattern from the paper used.

Sometimes, if you use some kitchen roll which has a bit of a texture or pattern in it, and you use that to blot the watercolour, you can see the pattern of the kitchen roll in there.

Once the paint is dry, blotting will not work.

You won't be able to lift the paint off once it's fully dried.

So a little check for understanding.

True or false? Blotting can be used to remove any mistakes with watercolour so that they cannot be seen.

Is that true or is it false? (no audio) Well done if you said, it was false.

And that's because, blotting can lighten colour when the paint is still wet.

However, it can't always reliably remove all of the paint and the pigment from the surface.

Artists can use masking to protect areas of their work to preserve lighter areas.

They may use masking fluid or masking tape.

Masking fluid can be applied for flexibility to create organic shapes.

Masking tape is useful for straight lines or for framing.

Why might an artist use masking when working with watercolour? Is it A: To help colours mix more quickly on the paper? B: To make dark colours appear brighter in a painting? Or C: To protect light areas from being painted over? And well done If you said, C.

You're correct.

It is to protect light areas from being painted over.

So just a little bit of health and safety.

When using masking fluids, you need to make sure that you work in a well ventilated area.

You avoid skin contact with the masking fluid.

Don't use your best brushes because masking fluid is renowned for ruining paint brushes, ruining the bristles of the paint brushes.

And keep it away from your eyes and mouth.

Close the bottle tightly after use as well.

So masking with masking fluid can look like this.

First of all, you could lightly draw the subject and decide which areas you want to protect and keep the colour of that original paper.

In this case, it would be choosing which areas you want to keep white.

You can apply the masking fluid carefully using an old brush or a cotton bud.

Sometimes, you can get masking fluid pens that you can apply the masking fluid directly in a pen form, rather than in a brush form.

Then you just need to allow the masking fluid to dry until it's slightly yellowish and no longer sticky.

You could then add your watercolour over the top of the masking fluid and paint your subject as you normally would.

You can allow the paint to completely dry, and then you can gently rub off, or peel away the masking fluid.

Don't leave masking fluid on the paper for too long as it can be hard to remove if it's been left there for quite a while.

So let's get stuck into, experimenting with masking fluid to preserve highlights before painting light washes.

So firstly, lightly sketch your composition onto watercolour paper.

You should, choose a subject that suits your project theme.

Observe a chosen stimuli.

Draw very lightly so that it can be covered by the watercolour.

So with this example here, with the birds, you can see that it has been lightly sketched onto watercolour paper.

So yours doesn't have to be a bird, but whatever you choose, it does need to be very gently sketched out.

Now, you're going to experiment with masking fluids to preserve some highlights before painting light washes.

So let's learn to carefully apply masking fluid to our drawn designs.

You should, think about what I said before about the health and safety advice with how to use masking fluid.

Decide which areas you want to preserve and keep the colour of the paper.

Apply masking fluid carefully, either using an old brush or cotton bud or a masking fluid pen.

Allow it to dry until the fluid is slightly yellowish and no longer sticky.

So hopefully, you've had fun applying your masking fluid, and you might have something that looks like this, where you've got lots of different highlights.

So Sophia has said, "I've only applied a small amount of masking fluid as I only need a few highlights." And Jun has said, "This will make those white tones stand out effectively and contrast." So now that we've applied the masking fluid onto our sketched out subject, we're going to learn to apply light watercolour washes.

You should apply watercolour over the masking fluid and just paint your subject as normal.

Apply your lightest colours and tones first.

Apply washes using water to dilute the watercolour paint and blot quickly if you want to further lighten the wet paint.

And it could be handy to have either a dry brush, a tissue, or some kitchen roll handy for the blotting.

So there's many possible outcomes, but yours could look something like this.

And Andeep has said, "Your painting is very delicate.

As you have blended your washes, you've made good use of blotting to lighten areas." So we've just got a light initial first wash in place.

I hope you enjoyed our first learning cycle about masking.

Now we're gonna move on to glazing and using wet-on-wet to create depth.

So how can we create depth in this image? You can pause the video while you discuss with somebody else.

(no audio) So thank you for sharing your responses.

Alex has said, "We need contrast to create depth." Izzy has said, "We need to add darker layers of watercolour to create depth." Watercolour allows you to blend colours and tones softly to create smooth gradients.

So here's an example.

This is a wash.

So applying wet paint with a brush to control the blending.

Here's another watercolour technique, and this is wet-on-wet.

A technique that I mentioned before, where wet paint is added into another wet paint area to mix naturally.

What effect does blending in watercolour help to create? Is it A: Flat colour with no variation in tone? B: Sharp edges and bold outlines? C: Smooth gradients and soft colour changes? (no audio) Well done if you said, C.

It is smooth gradients and soft colour changes.

Watercolour is activated by using water to move and thin the paint, which can create soft blending of colours.

So we have a lovely example here.

Watercolour can be applied onto dry surfaces, such as with glazing, where thin transparent layers are added to a dry surface.

So you can see all those layers of built-up watercolour there.

How does this affect the artist's control of the colour and tones? (no audio) Thank you for sharing your thoughts there.

So just a little check for understanding.

True or false? Watercolour can only be applied onto a dry surface.

Is that statement true or is it false? (no audio) Of course you're correct.

It's false, and why is that? Well, watercolour can be applied onto a dry surface like with glazing.

However, watercolour techniques like, wet-on-wet require the use of a wet surface to allow paints to mix naturally on the paper.

So going back to this example, again, we can see that glazing adds depth or shadow without covering the details.

We can still see through some of the layers.

Why might this be a benefit for the painter? You can pause the video while you discuss with somebody.

(no audio) Thank you for discussing that.

There were some great responses.

So, which is the most likely purpose of glazing in watercolour painting? Is it A: To build depth or shadow without covering details? B: To cover up mistakes with thick paint? C: To dry the paint faster between layers? (no audio) Well done If you said A.

You're correct.

Indeed, it is to build depth or shadow without covering details.

Glazing could be used to cover lighter layers, but it would take multiple transparent layers to fully cover the detail underneath.

So let's add some depth to your work from Task A by adding some mid and darker tones.

You should use any combination of washes, glazing, or wet-on-wet.

Continue to work from light to dark.

Allow the paint layers to dry, and then gently remove the masking fluid to reveal the preserved lighter sections right at the end.

I hope you enjoyed that task.

Here's some examples of what you might have done.

So Sophia has said, "Your wet-on-wet has created interesting textures." And Jacob has said, "I'm impressed with your tone using washes and glazing." (no audio) So this brings us towards the end of our learning session today.

I hope you've really enjoyed learning about watercolour with me.

Let's recap some of our key learning from this session.

Watercolour is transparent, so artists paint the lightest areas first and build up gradually to the darker tones.

Artists can use a range of skills such as blotting, masking, glazing, wet-on-wet and washes to create effects in their watercolour painting.

Artists can use masking to protect areas of their work to preserve lighter areas.

Watercolour allows you to blend colours and tones softly to create smooth gradients.

I hope that learning's been really helpful for you today.

I've really enjoyed leading you through this, and thank you so much for joining me.

I'll see you again soon.

(no audio).