A wash is an even area of color, like a sky or a background. The secret is to mix enough paint before you start and to keep the bottom edge of your color wet as you work.
How do I paint a smooth wash?
- Mix more color than you think you need. Prepare it in the mixing area first. Stopping halfway to mix more can leave lines.
- Tilt your page slightly. Gravity helps the color flow downward, so it collects at the bottom edge of each stroke.
- Paint side-to-side strokes from top to bottom. Overlap each new stroke with the still-wet bottom edge of the one before.
- Keep going, and don't go back. Painting over an area that has started to dry is what causes streaks and patches.
- Soak up the extra at the end. Touch a dry tissue corner or a squeezed-out brush to the little bead of paint at the bottom.
How do I paint a gradient?
- One color, dark to light: start with strong color at the top, then add a drop of water to your mix (or give the water brush a gentle squeeze) before each new row, so the color fades as you go down.
- Two colors: paint one color from the top and the other from the bottom, and let them meet in the middle while both are still wet. Yellow into pink makes a lovely sunset.
Good to know
- The water brush has a small tip, so start with small areas (a few inches wide) while you practice.
- Let your wash dry flat before painting on top of it.
- A little ripple in the paper during a big wash is normal. See our article "How do I stop the paper from buckling or curling?"