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There are two ways to minimise rippling when working wet in wet. The first is to stretch your paper by soaking it for a couple of minutes in water then stapling and taping it to a board. As the paper dries it shrinks and becomes very flat. The pre=shrinking minimised buckling when you apply wet paint. Some people wet the paper and let it adhere to a perspex surface and move of its own will. See the Top 20 FAQ in the Learning Zone for help.
I do none of that, I work on 200lb Saunders Waterford paper which is very thick and stiff and at sizes up to 1/4 sheet requires no stretching.
It goes without saying you should use good quality paper.
Doug
We must leave our mark on this worldHi Shawn Qui-Qui
Your question made me howl with laughter – not at you – but because I’ve been there too.
“I am angry at watercolors, every time and every paper I use always ripples up. I can’t seem to figure out how to work with watercolors.”
You have so many questions – but this one is paramount (in my opinion) to all the others.
So here goes ~
Imagine you turn on the bathroom faucet, put the stopper in, then keep filling the sink.
That is why bathroom sinks have drain slots – for people who don’t turn off the water.
Any watercolor paper you use – doesn’t have a water drain slot …
What’s the point here?
‘Less is more’ when it comes to applying water to the paper.
Easier said than done. So here is a quick way to gauge your use of water on the paper …
Lay your paper down – under an overhead light. Dip your brush into your water and draw a
circle on your paper. Best to use a ’round’ brush as the tip is the area of the brush
that releases the water onto the paper. Just apply the tip of the brush to the paper.
Now look sideways at the paper … do you see the shine of the water
on the paper? Position the light or your head vis a vis the paper – until you see the shine.
If you have used too much water or have pressed the brush fully onto the paper –
you will see a bulge of water on your paper.
What you want is a glossy flat wet shine of water on your paper.
And when you apply your color to this area … the color will disperse into the wet areas.
This technique through out your painting – will keep the paper from rippling up.
Now we can move on to deep color on your paper ~
Expert artists apply tube colors to a deep well palette. They may use an eye dropper to apply
water to the palette well. Then they stir the color and water with a toothpick
or a small brush until the color fully mixes with the water.
Here’s the secret to deep or light color ~
If you want deep color – (as the pigment will settle into the center of the well) …
dip your brush fully – into the center of the well.
If you want less color – swirl your brush around the edges of the well.
Hope this gets you off to a good start with your painting.
Best regards,
Picassolite
PS – the reason some artists prefer to paint in oils, acrylics or watercolor is because
the various mediums actually expose one’s inner temperament.
Oils are for people who love to get messy. Acrylics are for people who want fast results.
Watercolor on the other hand is for people who love to solve puzzles.
Watercolor is a different kind of BEAST. It can be tamed – but only with persistent attention
to detail.
And there is an unspoken rule to successful watercolor – many times you just have to stop
painting, walk away, do something else – and give the painting a chance to ‘set up.’
This is one of THE MAJOR differences between watercolor and other mediums.
If you have used too much water or have pressed the brush fully onto the paper – you will see a bulge of water on your paper. What you want is a glossy flat wet shine of water on your paper. And when you apply your color to this area … the color will disperse into the wet areas. This technique through out your painting – will keep the paper from rippling up.
…..
And there is an unspoken rule to successful watercolor – many times you just have to stop painting, walk away, do something else – and give the painting a chance to ‘set up.’
Thank you very much Picassolite for the tips you give above. They are useful for most if not all watercolor beginners. I was concerned me too with the water amount in the wet on wet technique.
Emmanuel
C&C welcomeI eventually figured out how to use Watercolors. Now I use them almost everyday
Here is a Leopard Gecko I painted in watercolors
If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.
A Qoute From : The Hobbit, By: J. R. R. Tolkien
Shawn M. Ballard - My Art Website - My Redbubble Prints
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