The combination of wet and dry techniques

Tissa HEWAVITARANE

It is difficult to use the technique of painting on a wet background or just the technique of painting on a dry background in any given painting. Usually both are used simultaneously to achieve the desired effects of each, capturing the fusion of tones on the one hand and the precision of a dry brush stroke on the other.

Human figures are kept alive by aiming to capture the gesture and shape.

The only problem is that these two techniques demand completely different drying times between applications. If the base is wet, the newly applied paint will spread and merge. If the base is solid, the brush strokes will appear definite and precise.

The wet background

The wet background allows effects of atmosphere, vague shades, merging areas, gradations and the merging and blending of colour.

The extent to which an added colour will spread depends upon the degree of wetness of the background controlling the enables the painter to work with great precision in the area where the colour is being applied. The wetness is controlled with absorbent paper, with a sponge, a dry brush or by the natural evaporation of the water.

Drying time for each coat

To observe the dry times for each coat of paint, wait for the paper to dry a little. If you paint while the paper is still soaking wet the colour will run and blend completely.

While the background is still wet, but not soaked, a darker colour could be added. With a dryer base, the form of the brush stroke can be controlled, much better. Controlling the flow of the paint on the paper improves as the paper dries.

It is important to remember that you can't paint light tones over dark tones with watercolour paints. It must always be the other way around.

Wet-into-wet techniques

There is nothing more exhilarating than dropping rich colour on to wet paper and watching things happen. Wet-into-wet is a bit of a misnomer because if you do actually drop wet paint on to a wet surface you then get two lots of water and the result is weak, runny and out of control. Apart from describing the main pit falls, there's no way one can really explain the technique. You just have to experience it and experiment yourself.

Try it out with just one colour first, say Burnt umber and be prepared to waste a few sheets of paper until you achieve your target. A word of warning, never use wet-into-wet for foregrounds, they at least, should be crisp and sharp, otherwise it will look as if you are wearing the wrong glasses. Do practise this technique although it probably won't come off at first. Wet-into-wet is the most spontaneous and exciting, but too much of it can be vague and dull.

A good example of the use of wet-in-wet is shown the painting I have done titled 'conversation'. Thick paint is used on the two women to get a dark tone on the figure. Patches of red and blue paint applied on their dress.

Where I have used maroon and ultramarine blue. The eye is always drawn to human figures in any landscape, and their inclusion can turn an ordinary subject into a striking picture.

Here the two women figures on the left form the anchoring point for the whole composition. Wet-in-wet mixtures of ultramarine, yellow ochore and Burnt-sienna used to create richness and depth of colour.

The human figures are kept alive by aiming to capture the gesture and shape. The fishing boats gives a dramatic impression with two tiny figures in the boat and two men standing on a side.

They are used to give life, movement and scale to a scene. The most important thing is the action and the gesture. The clouds are grouped to from a coherent shape.

Letting the background show through

The colour of the paper is the lightest tone of watercolour painting. If it is white reflections will be white. On the other hand the light tones are of another colour, the reflections will be the chosen colour. In this picture you will see how the background colour acts and offsets the work as a whole. The brighter tones have to remain visible through the darker and denser tones.

Combination of techniques

Once you can control different drying times, it is possible to combine both techniques. With constant practice this combination will yield astonishing results that are much more simple to create than would appear on first impression. The effect of a blend on wet can be applied next to the effect of a painting on dry to demonstrate the depth of a landscape, textures of objects, volume and so on. I have explained the basic watercolour techniques of wash, wet-into-wet, and dry brush. They all have their strengths and weaknesses. Wash for example, is the most positive way of indicating shapes. Its strength lies in its simplicity using wet-into-wet technique. It is the most spontaneous and exciting and delightful experience. Observe the painting related to this article. Its wet, vibrant and jucy in varying degrees and great way to get your feet wet in the medium and to experience a unique sensation to transparent watercolour.

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