You don't actually "make" watercolor paint with water. Water is used to activate and dilute pre-made watercolor paints. You can use water to achieve different effects with watercolor paints.
Here's a breakdown:
- Watercolor Paints: Watercolor paints are pigments (the color) mixed with a binder (like gum arabic) that holds the pigment together. They come in pans (hard cakes of paint) or tubes (a more concentrated, paste-like form).
- Water's Role: Water is the solvent that dissolves the binder and allows you to apply the pigment to paper.
Here's how water is used to paint with watercolors:
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Activating Pan Paints: If you're using pan watercolors, wet your brush with clean water and then rub it gently over the surface of the paint. The water dissolves a small amount of the pigment, creating a liquid paint.
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Diluting Tube Paints: If you're using tube watercolors, squeeze a small amount of paint onto a palette. Then, use a wet brush to mix the paint with water. The more water you add, the lighter and more transparent the color will be.
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Creating Washes: A wash is a thin, even layer of watercolor paint. To create a wash, mix a large amount of water with a small amount of paint. Use a large, soft brush to apply the wash to the paper.
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Controlling Value: The "value" of a color refers to its lightness or darkness. You can control the value of your watercolors by adding more or less water. More water creates a lighter value, while less water creates a darker value.
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Painting Water (as shown in the reference video): While not making paint with water, water is crucial for painting water using watercolors. The video demonstrates how using different amounts of diluted blue, Prussian blue, and a sand color, you can create depth and dimension in your watercolor painting of water. Water is also used to blend these colours together smoothly.
In summary, water is the vehicle that allows watercolor pigments to be applied to a surface. You adjust the water-to-pigment ratio to control the color's intensity, value, and transparency. You don't make the paint from water alone; you use water to use your paints.
