A beautiful, even wash is one of the building blocks of watercolour, and in this tutorial I’ll show you how to create one with confidence. We’ll begin with a flat wash on dry paper, using a fully loaded brush, a gentle tilt of the board and what I call the leading puddle to carry the colour smoothly across the surface. Then I’ll show you how the same technique behaves wet in wet, giving you more working time and a softer, lighter result. We’ll also explore graded washes, moving from rich colour through to paler tones, and look at how gravity can help you blend and move paint beautifully across the page. These are wonderfully useful techniques that we’ll return to again and again, so have a play, enjoy the flow of the paint and start getting comfortable with that lovely balance of water and colour.
