Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Simple Progressive Watercolors


I have been interested in watercolors for a while now.  I have seen several artists online that do work all in one color of paint.  So I decided to try and create my own version, a very simplified version of course.

Here are all the supplies that you will need if you want to try these yourself:


  • A piece of watercolor paper or another type of canvas meant for watercolors.
  • One large brush for your first few washes.
  • One small brush for the more detailed washes.
  • One color of watercolor paint, or a mixture of different colors if you want to make your own.
  • And finally, water of course!


First start out with a light wash with your large brush.  Let that dry completely before you begin your next wash.



Now, choose a shape or pattern you want to use for the rest of your painting.  Keep it small at first so you can get in a lot of washes, that way you can get your color nice and dark toward the end.  Just create an outline of your shape and paint from the outline to the edge of your paper.  Be sure to let only your first wash show through inside your shape.


Continue like this until your shape gets all the way to the edge. Just be sure to let each wash dry completely before you start the next one, this project can take some patience. If you are really in a hurry you can try a cool hair dryer, but I don't really recommend it.


Here are a few of the other pieces I have used this technique on.  What do you think? Is this a project you might want to try?  Leave me a comment and let me know how it goes!