Sharp, soft, lost and blended edges can make such a difference to a painting, and in this tutorial I’ll show you how to create and control them. We’ll begin by taking wet paint up to dry paper for a crisp, clean edge, before using a damp brush to release that edge and allow the colour to soften beautifully into the surrounding area. I’ll also show you how turning the paper can make precise edges much easier to paint. From there, we’ll blend colours together, lift paint away and explore how the wetness of both your brush and paper affects the finished result. A simple rule sits behind much of it: wet paint against dry gives you a sharper edge, while wet against wet creates softness. Once you begin to understand that relationship, you’ll have so much more control over where your paintings appear crisp and where they gently disappear.
