Watercolor paints are powdered dye pigments bonded to glycerin and gum arabic. In addition to the form of water-based paints stored in plastic or metal packaging, water-soluble pigments are also found as watercolor or water-soluble pencils.

Children’s watercolors

The watercolors preferred for children’s creativity are copper-based. This is due to their faster drying and durable and intense colors. Honey watercolors are available in plastic boxes-palettes of different shapes and transparent lids, showing the bright colors included in the sets. In addition to the standard, classic colors, in some sets for children’s creativity, there are also pearl and fluorescent watercolor paints (set “Tsvetik 12 + 6 + 6” of the Russian manufacturer “Nevskaya Palitra”).

Professional watercolor paints

Paints for professionals have durable and lightfast colors. They can be in the form of a thick liquid stored in metal tubes or shaped like blocks with a semi-liquid state in separate trays or palettes. They are available in both sets and single packs. Another way to pack watercolor paints is Winsor & Newton’s practical combination sets, easily portable and containing everything you need for outdoor painting – paints, a color mixing palette, a folding brush, a bottle of water and a pencil for sketching.

Watercolor painting techniques

The easiest and most familiar way to paint with watercolors is to apply them with a wet brush on a piece of paper or cardboard. All types of paints are suitable for this type of technique, while vice versa – not all techniques are suitable for the use of dry, ordinary paint intended for mass use. After the classic, one of the more famous watercolor painting techniques is “wet in wet”. In this case, the paint is applied to a previously wet surface and with a very wet brush. In this way, the colors blur and blend into each other, creating amazing color shapes and shades. Therefore, although it relies more on chance than on deliberate control in the application of paint, this technique is quite popular in watercolor painting. Suitable for it are paints with high transparency on the surface chosen for painting. Such are the watercolors from the “White Nights” series of “Nevskaya Palitra”.

Another option for painting with watercolor is the layering of colors. It is achieved by applying a base of solid color and then covering it with a highly fuzzy paint. In addition to this way, layering can also be done by applying layers of thick and dense color, which achieves a relief of the picture. When layering colors, it is important to wait for the previous layer to dry. This technique can be applied with watercolors of the Leningrad series. The dry brush painting method can be applied to the use of paints in a semi-liquid state. Suitable for this type of painting are watercolors in tubes, whose moist form allows the application of dense and opaque colors, such as the watercolors “Sonnet”.