1 Wet the Paper
Wet the background with clean water and a soft brush. You want the paper to be wet but not too wet, just to the point where no water sits on top of the paper and it will soon start to lose its shine.
Before starting to paint the wash, you will need to have your drawing ready, and you might want to preserve a few white areas with masking fluid. If the subject you are painting in front of your variegated wash is lighter and has intricate edges or details, you might want to mask the entire area so you can paint the background more freely.
Wet the background with clean water and a soft brush. You want the paper to be wet but not too wet, just to the point where no water sits on top of the paper and it will soon start to lose its shine.
Prepare the colors you are going to use to paint your variegated wash background.
Paint the background by placing touches of colors where you want them and letting them mix wet on wet.
You can also lift color with a dry brush or a tissue paper in areas that you want to appear lighter.
WATCH IT! Watch Sandrine Paint a Variegated Wash. Visit ArtistsNetwork.com/fearless-watercolor.
CHERRY BLOSSOM
Watercolor on paper
12" × 12" (30cm × 30cm)
The background for this painting was painted using a wet-on-wet technique so the colors would mix on the paper and the edges could be a bit fuzzy. Color was lifted while still wet in the areas where the branches are in the background. After the background was dry, I worked on the flowers in the foreground; the edges of these flowers were painted wet on dry, so they are more defined.
WATCH IT! Watch Sandrine Build Texture by Layering Washes. Visit ArtistsNetwork.com/fearless-watercolor.