But creating tones in watercolor is very important. Sometimes it is even more important than the color itself. To draw an analogy, a pianist for example might be good at reading sheet music and might have perfectly disciplined fingers to run throughout all the keys with ease but if he cannot coordinate his feet on the damper pedal, the resonance of chords will overlap and so will every key pressed that instead of music, all that is produced is a cacophony of noises. Watercolor art works the same way. As Henri Matisse once said, “There (a painting) should be a relationship and a living harmony of all the tones”.

Tones could be created with all colors, although lighter colors such as yellow will have less color tone possibilities than the darker colors such as reds and blues. Even so light colors could appear darker when surrounded by darker colors. This is also a tonal variation, a color illusion if you will that artists use and make adjustments but who gained first an understanding of color behavior.

Every good artist has to different degrees, practiced first on a grey value scale. A grey value scale is separated into 10 sections with the topmost color being pure white and the remaining nine is shaded 10% increments darker until the tenth or the bottom color is black. Comparing color tones based on the grey value scale gives the artist a very good idea on how color tones differ and how best to apply it. It also allows the artist uniformity on color tone application.

To achieve a good command at color toning, practice by painting a grey scale using black and white paints. Start with a white block at the opposite end and a black paint at the other and mix them in different range of grey. If you are starting from the darkest color the best way that this is done is to apply water as you go up the scale.

Once you can paint well with grey values, you can apply the same method with the colors that you use frequently. After that you can paint a value scale of all the colors that you have in your palette. These value scales will prove very important when you do actual watercolor work, as these tones are what you will use for color and tone referencing.

While working on the grey scale, you might be tempted to use white as you go to the lighter shades of grey. When painting a color scale however, it is not advisable since the color intensity will be lost. This practice always provided artists a very good working idea on how tones are created. Painting in tones is time well spent.

To get the most out of the brush and execute washes and details, it will be well to practice and notice how paints and strokes behave differently when other points in the handle of the brush is used. Varying the grip from the base of the ferrule to the tip of the handle creates different strokes. The farther away from the handle one goes, the smoother and finer lines are produced. That said, the following are watercolor washes that watercolor artist applies in their work in varying degrees and that no effective watercolorist cannot do without.

Flat Wash – There are three basic variations of a flat wash, the flat and even wash where the color is applied entirely without variation in shade, a light to dark wash and a dark to light wash. To do this, charge the flat brush with a liberal amount of paint starting in a corner (no matter which, work for conveninece as this depends on whether you are left handed or right handed), touch the paper gently with the brush and pull the paint to the other corner. Execute the brush stroke so that the paint flow as even as possible. The next brush strokes must overlap near the edge of the preceding stroke. If the paint does not flow evenly, increase the angle of your board.

Always keep a blotting paper near to control the flow and when there is too much dripping, work faster and blot the drips away. Refill the brush as needed and keep the tone even. Repeat the process until you have achieved the wash desired. To “cut” the edges, use the flat edge of the brush. If beads run downwards, pick this using the wick action of the brush. Every color in your palette has their own drying properties so try different washes using different colors. Try also drying out the paper at an angle as this technique tends to settle out the pigment with the paper texture.

Graded Wash – The aim here is to achieve a wash where the value of the color changes smoothly from dark to light. Graded washes often used in landscape painting to paint an open sky, although there are lots of other applications for this technique. The process is very similar to the flat wash except that in creating a graded wash you could either start by painting the paper with a darker value working yourself to the bottom with lighter paint (or water) to decrease the intensity of the color.

Glazed Wash – This technique uses another color as wash over another color to arrive at a glazed over effect. Basically glazing is painting a transparent color on top of another that produces different effects and values to the color underneath.

Art techniques for painting in watercolor, whether on canvas or on paper:

Unlike other mediums then, decisions at the start of the painting must be done where the whites are placed and apply the lightest of shades first. Common practices of watercolorists are to leave the white areas for later.

To paint in watercolor, observe the following.

Center of Interest

Creating the center of interest is the heart of an artwork. When you paint in watercolor, unless the theme is formal or static, avoid having the center of interest right in the middle of the painting. To solve this, break the vertical and the horizontal axis on a ratio of 1:2. Keeping the center of interest of the painting at an unequal distance between the sides will correct the subjects positioning.

Thumbnails sketches

When the subject of the painting is already determined, drawing thumbnail sketches will help manage the canvass and prevent you from making mistakes later. The thumbnail sketches will allow you to arrange and shuffle the subjects around. Having thumbnails sketches also provides you with a good idea on creating lights and shadows to have the maximum contrasts at the center of interest

Applying the color

Having the center of interest in mind, start the painting by applying the lightest washes in the background working towards the darker hues and details later on. Having too many colors in the palette often result into a work that looks muddy and discordant. When starting the painting, have your color palette limited to two or three colors working your way towards tight details later on as dictated by the subject and the atmosphere that you want to create. Introduction of intense colors could be done later in the work. When starting to color, cover large areas loosely but do not forget to leave the white areas blank. This will enable you to create very good detail and tonal contrasts.

Harmonizing the color

While coloring and the choice of colors to be applied basically rests with the artist, a color wheel is a good tool to use to get a better idea on how the watercolor painting will appear in the end. Harmonizing the color rests on tastes and preferences and so there are no rules to that. However, the one thing that is best avoided when unsure of which color to use is to avoid neutral darks. Watercolor painting will tend to have more character if the dark color choices are either warm or cool darks. If a discordant color appears in the painting (like for example a purple lily that seems to jump out of the canvass), apply the discordant color to other areas of the painting as well.

Finally, as with all artwork, when you paint in watercolor, do not overdo details. Creating too much detail in one single work will tire the eye. Create areas of relief as well.

You do not need a big studio to start watercolour painting. Quite the opposite, you can do a small painting while sitting in your favourite chair. You require very little equipment to begin. A few brushes, some tubes of paint, paper, a pot of water, palette and something to rest on and you’re away.

You have none of the smell with watercolours that you get with oils. There’s no messing around with thinning liquids or white spirit to clean your brushes. Simply dipping the brush in water and wiping it with a cloth is enough to clean it. It is the ideal medium to begin painting with.

I keep all my watercolour painting equipment in a box easel. This shuts up when not in use and is placed neatly away, taking little room. When I want to paint, I simply take it out and open the easel. Within minutes, I’m ready to begin.

It’s not expensive to begin watercolour painting. You can get all you need relatively cheaply. It’s also the most portable of the painting mediums. You can easily pack all you need into a small bag and go do some outdoor painting. You can even carry wallet-sized palettes in your pocket to capture scenes from everyday life.

It is also a very quick medium to use. Paintings don’t take long to dry. You can use a small hair dryer to speed the drying process. Compare this with oils which can take days to dry. There’s little mess with watercolours and any spillages can easily be wiped clean. Apart from the practical aspects of starting watercolour painting, there’s also the wonderful artistic effects that can be achieved with this medium.

Watercolours offer the painter a whole range of techniques to experiment with; Slight variations of tone are achieved easily, and can create beautiful effects. You will still have to take some time to learn the techniques. Learning how to do washes, an essential skill of the watercolour artist ,should be your first lesson.

You can easily practice this sat at a table. Once you’ve applied a few washes and studied how adding more water than paint to your brush produces one effect and adding more paint produces another. You will soon begin to appreciate the beauty of this medium. Happy accidents can be very happy with watercolours; and you can achieve beautiful effects when two colours mix on damp paper.

Effects that you can never repeat. If you were thinking of learning to paint then I would strongly recommend you start with watercolours. Perfecting your art is a lifelong process, but learning the basics is quiet simple. You’ll be surprised how quickly you can produce wonderful paintings.