LGK
Ideal_Rock
- Joined
- Nov 27, 2007
- Messages
- 2,975
Follow a Watercolor
- Thread starter kenny
- Start date
dragonfly411
Ideal_Rock
- Joined
- Jun 25, 2007
- Messages
- 7,378
- Joined
- Apr 30, 2005
- Messages
- 33,865
Uh Oh! Black watercolor. 
Treacherous topic.
I don't know whether there even IS a black watercolor paint; I've never checked.
I think WC purists like to retain transparency even in near-blacks so I like to keep blacks just this side of opaque.
If I want to darken or subdue a color I'll experiment adding its compliment on some scrap paper.
Gosh, how do I express how I feel about true-black in WC?
In WC I think of all the colors as wonderful life-giving religions but black is like atheism or death.
I've got nothing against atheism, in fact I probably am one, it's just that atheism has no place in a church and WC is definite a church.
To get as close to black as I've ever cared to I'll experiment with mixing opposites like a green and a red, maybe Hooker's green and Alizarin Crimson.
In WC a solid hard black is extremely difficult to paint, especially over a large area.
Even if you try to put down another layer over a dry one, the bottom dry layer tends to dissolve and make pond scum.
Trying to get true black can result in a blotchy chalky look, and if you keep adding paint from the tube it turns to a gooey gluelike gouache.
Often you can make an area seem more black by making the rest of the painting, or adjacent areas, lighter.
WC often gets a bum rap of being a washed out, pale, wimpy, and pansy medium.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
When done well watercolor can rival oil for its vibrant tonal spectrum.
WC also has a reputation for being unsuitable for fine detail and photo-realism and only good for fluffy feminine soft-focus subjects like teddy bears holding Charmin bathroom tissue.
PUH-LEEZ!
Treacherous topic.
I don't know whether there even IS a black watercolor paint; I've never checked.
I think WC purists like to retain transparency even in near-blacks so I like to keep blacks just this side of opaque.
If I want to darken or subdue a color I'll experiment adding its compliment on some scrap paper.
Gosh, how do I express how I feel about true-black in WC?
In WC I think of all the colors as wonderful life-giving religions but black is like atheism or death.
I've got nothing against atheism, in fact I probably am one, it's just that atheism has no place in a church and WC is definite a church.
To get as close to black as I've ever cared to I'll experiment with mixing opposites like a green and a red, maybe Hooker's green and Alizarin Crimson.
In WC a solid hard black is extremely difficult to paint, especially over a large area.
Even if you try to put down another layer over a dry one, the bottom dry layer tends to dissolve and make pond scum.
Trying to get true black can result in a blotchy chalky look, and if you keep adding paint from the tube it turns to a gooey gluelike gouache.
Often you can make an area seem more black by making the rest of the painting, or adjacent areas, lighter.
WC often gets a bum rap of being a washed out, pale, wimpy, and pansy medium.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
When done well watercolor can rival oil for its vibrant tonal spectrum.
WC also has a reputation for being unsuitable for fine detail and photo-realism and only good for fluffy feminine soft-focus subjects like teddy bears holding Charmin bathroom tissue.
PUH-LEEZ!
missydebby
Brilliant_Rock
- Joined
- Apr 2, 2010
- Messages
- 1,815
Oooooooo Kenny !!!!! How did I miss this thread. Sometimes I forget to go to the Hangout. SO cool. I'm so glad you are doing this. I have basically water colored like 10 times in my life and get too frustrated. And I'm so used to wiping things on and off with the oils. I can't wait to see the progression.
Thank you!!!!
Thank you!!!!
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