Watercolor Painting Techniques 

Painting a Flat Wash
Laying a flat wash is a simple way to cover a large area with solid color. A flat wash can operate as a subtle backdrop or even as an underpainting—a base color that influences the subsequent layers of paint. To create a flat wash, load your brush with color before each stroke to maintain the same overall depth of color. Although creating the perfect flat wash might take some practice, it’s a technique you’ll use so often that it’ll be worth the extra effort!



STEP ONE
Wet the paper with clear water,
and then tilt your support at a slight
angle. Load your 1" flat brush with
heavily diluted color, and make an
even, horizontal stroke all the way
across the top of the paper.





STEP TWO
Load your brush again and make
another horizontal stroke, slightly
overlapping the previous stroke
and picking up any drips of the
previous stroke.





STEP THREE
Continue loading your brush and
making overlapping horizontal strokes
until you reach the bottom of the paper.
(Any streaks should merge and
disappear as the paint dries, but feel
free to stroke back and forth a few
times to even out the color
if necessary.)

Pin It

Tweet