Part 2 Paint along with David Webb as you practise his three-wash technique in colour

David Webb

Dexta , watercolour, 10x14in. (25.5x35.5cm). The warmth of the greens and yellows in this painting is counterbalanced by the coolness of Dexta, the blue tractor.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

How to paint with a limited watercolour palette

Mix colours on the paper

Practise a three-wash technique

When it comes to watercolour, one of the most common faults among students is overworking. We’ve all done it. Our painting begins well as large washes are applied with confidence then, almost without noticing it, we’re dabbing and dotting at small, unnecessary details with a brush that’s way too small for the job. The freshness has been lost and we’ve slipped back into first-aid mode, with no clear idea of where the painting is going or when we’re going to stop.

It’s when you reach this stage that you realise that perhaps you’ve applied too many layers of paint. Your once promising painting is now all but covered up. Where did it all go wrong? Unlike oils and acrylics, watercolour is not so forgiving of our mistakes. We can’t just wipe it off with a rag or cover it with another layer. And that’s why it is vital to have a plan and a clear idea of where you intend to go.

The approach

It always pays to break things down into a series of steps before committing paint to paper. I use the ‘three-washes method’ as a rough framework. I try to keep to the process that I described in part one last month, which involves a light-toned, wet-into-wet wash first, which covers just about the entire sheet apart from the highlights. Once dry, I apply a second, medium-toned wash, covering those areas where stronger, mid-tones are evident. Finally, the third, darkest wash is applied to the areas where the darkest darks occur.