Paint

Watercolors are beloved for their versatility. You can paint in fine detail or in loose, blending brushstrokes. Colors can be translucent and light, or bold and vibrant. Watercolors can easily take on a life of their own which makes them so fun to play with.

Watercolor paints are manufactured in many different forms. The three most common are tubes, pans, and liquids.

Related Terms

• Pigment - colored material that is mixed with a binding medium and other additives to create paint.

• Dye - colored material that dissolves in water and can become part of the material it is placed upon.

• Lightfastness - how much a paint resists fading when exposed to light. Pigments are more fade resistant, or lightfast than dyes. Paints with good lightfastness are called non-fugitive while paints with poor lightfastness are called fugitive.

• Permanency - how resistant to fading and stable a paint is over time. Permanency is similar to lightfastness and the terms are often used interchangeably.

• Transparency/Opacity - how see-through paint is when placed on paper. Transparent paints show the color of the paper through the paint while opaque paints do not. Watercolor paints are often classified as transparent, semi-transparent, semi-opaque, or opaque.

• Gouache - a form of opaque watercolor paint with a matte finish.

Brushes

Brushes can be overwhelming and confusing at first because there are so many options and variations. Once you know the basic differences, it’s easier to understand what you need, and what you want to try.

Bristle Types

Paint brush bristles can be made with synthetic or natural fibers (animal hair, such as sable or squirrel hair). The bristles of brushes for each paint medium have different qualities. Brushes for watercolor painting often have soft bristles with varying levels of springiness depending on how much control you want over your brush strokes. Brushes for oil painting often have thicker and sturdier bristles because oil paint is much more dense. Acrylic brushes usually have bristles somewhere in between the soft watercolor brushes and sturdy oil brushes. Many brushes can be used for multiple mediums and are usually labeled depending on their suitability for each medium.

The bristles of a watercolor brush hold water as well as paint. When a brush holds more water you can paint more strokes without refilling your brush. You can also achieve effects to make your paint spread and bloom on the paper with more or less water. The bristles control the texture of the brush as well as the shape that the paint creates when laid on your surface.

Brush Shapes

Most brushes come in the basic shapes below, with many variations in shape, size and name depending on the manufacturer.

Brush handles also come in different lengths. Standard length brushes are referred to as short handle. Many manufacturers also make long handled brushes that can be held farther back for looser control. Brushes are also made in travel sizes with much shorter or removable handles.

Brush Sizes

Brush sizes are measured and labeled differently depending on the manufacturer, so it’s not always easy to gauge the size of a brush or compare brands without seeing the brushes in person. There can even be slight differences in sizing between different brush lines from a single manufacturer. There are no international standards for brush sizing, which is why there are so many differences.

In general, the bigger the number, the wider the bristle area of the brush will be. Round brushes are typically numbered between 000 and 24, with size 6 generally thought of as a versatile size for starting out. Brush sizes marked as fractions often refer to the width of the bristle area in inches (or mm if they are marked as decimals). Common fractional brush sizes range from 1/64” to 1”.

Paper

Watercolor paper varies in texture, quality and price depending on the manufacturer. Trying different papers is the best way to decide what works best for the detail and water content of your painting style. The paper you choose will have a significant impact on the end result of your watercolor painting. There are several important details to look for when choosing watercolor paper.

Paper Weight

One of the most important considerations for choosing watercolor paper is the weight. Heavier weight paper can handle more water without rippling, while lighter weight paper will ripple with even small quantities of water. Watercolor paper weight is determined by either measuring a ream of 500 sheets in pounds (lbs), or measuring a single sheet of paper in grams per square meter (gsm or g/m2). Common weights are 90 lb/210 gsm (lightweight), 140 lb/300 gsm, and 300 lb/640 gsm (heavyweight).

Lighter weight paper is usually less expensive than heavier weight paper, however, 90 lb paper is often too flimsy for watercolor painting unless you use very little water, while 300 lb paper might not be worth the extra money unless there is a significant need for the extra density. 140 lb paper is a great weight for beginners as well as seasoned artists, since it holds up to water so well.

Watercolor paper is sometimes labeled as either student grade or artist grade. These labels are largely arbitrary and mostly correlate to the price of the paper. Many professional artists use student quality papers depending on the end goal of their artwork and the quality of the paper. The weight and characteristics of the paper are much more important than the label.

Paper Type

Most watercolor paper has at least some surface texture. Some artists prefer a rougher, more textured surface, while others prefer a smoother surface. The surface texture of the paper will affect how the watercolor pigments pool and dry. The names of each texture indicate the manufacturing process used to create the paper. The actual level and characteristics of texture varies from brand to brand.

Hot Press - paper with a smooth surface. Some artists prefer hot press paper for small, finely detailed watercolor paintings.

Cold Press - paper with a slightly textured surface, sometimes referred to as tooth. Cold press paper creates more tonal differences as pigment granules pool in different levels of the tooth.

Rough Press - paper with a very textured surface and pronounced tooth. This paper creates more accented texture in the final painting but can make brushwork more challenging.

Mixed Media - paper formulated to take many different types of wet and dry media. Mixed media paper has a fairly smooth surface and can be good for combining watercolor with colored pencil or other dry media. Mixed media paper can be too smooth for some watercolor techniques but is a good choice for painting with gouache.

Paper Packaging

Watercolor paper is packaged in different forms. Thinking about where and how you want to use it is the most important factor in choosing which packaging you want to buy. Papers come in many different sizes and can be used in their original size or cut down to meet your needs.

Pad - a tape or spiral bound stack of watercolor paper with a front and back cover, to be removed sheet by sheet for use.

Sketchbook - similar to pads, sketchbooks are spiral or book bound with a front and back cover. Sketchbooks are great for traveling or keeping pieces together. Papers are typically left in the book rather than removed prior to painting.

Block - a stack of watercolor paper kept together on the sides by glue, which keeps the top piece flat as you paint. When the painting is dry, the top sheet can be carefully sliced off.

Sheet/Roll - watercolor paper can be purchased in large sheets or even rolls measuring several yards. These types of papers are often higher quality and are good for larger works.

Board - watercolor paper, clay surface or cotton canvas adhered to a board and designed for use with water-based paints.

Related Terms

• Acid-free - paper made with pulp that has neutral pH, which prevents yellowing over time.

• Archival - paper that is acid-free and 100% cotton rag, not containing wood pulp or artificial brighteners. Archival paper maintains its color and appearance well over time.

• Cotton rag - paper made from 100% cotton fibers. This paper is high quality and can handle techniques which scratch or scrape the paper.

• Paper stretching - to prevent buckling, watercolor paper can be soaked in water then taped down securely while wet. When the paper is dry it will resist buckling when watercolor paint is applied. Stretching paper is a personal preference depending on the paper used and end result desired.