There’s a lot of confusion about underpainting in watercolour. It’s somewhat similar to underpainting, or blocking-in, in other mediums. In other words, blocking-in colours strategically (or playing it wild to leave strategy at the door!). I have 2 processes for underpainting:

1. An abstract wet-in-wet which gives me a gorgeous soft-edged mysterious layer of colour.
2. A wet-in-wet loosey-goosey layer of strategically placed light to mid-values around whites (yes you have to know where you want them to be).

The trick is to paint the next layer of values whilst leaving some of the whites and some of the first wash showing. Even if your important values get a little lost, they will be retrievable if you use good quality watercolour paper and paint.

There’s another idea to consider:
You can keep painting into it while it’s wet/damp, especially if you start with paper wet on both sides. Most watercolour painters are reluctant to paint into wet or damp but, personally, I find this the most fun, rewarding and absorbing element of watercolour. Just use less water and havie a play with placing values to tell your story. Like me, you might need to change your brush to accommodate the amount of water you need so you can avoid blooms where you don’t want them.

I map my painting out and consider my process before I start. For example, I need to know where to place the yellow for a lemon if I want a yellow lemon (my next lemon with be pink!!). I stick with transparent colours and leave opaque and granulating pigments for later, this way I know that everything will work together nicely. Having said this, one of my students pulled out an old painting with a French Ultramarine background. She overpainted with reds and yellows – I was so pleased that she made it work – fearless – excellent - ‘nuff said!!

Be prepared for your painting to develop a life of its and to throw caution to the win. Stop and think, create a new strategy if need be.

Underpainting in watercolour can enhance your colours making them stronger, richer and more exciting. Soft-edged background shapes add depth, volume and mystery. Totally delicious!!

By this time your painting is probably dry (or you need a break!) and your painting will be ready for some calligraphy detail marks with some lovely rich colour straight from the tube – can't beat it!

Give your painting a final check – does your painting say what you want it to say? The cool thing is you don’t have to decide right now!! But do consider if it looks balanced, is it pleasing? Is there anything annoying you? I just discovered a problem area in a painting I thought I had resolved – so annoyed as I deliberately added “the problem” thinking I was so clever! Prop your painting upside down so you can see when you are walking past, this will give you a better understanding of the composition and structure, if it looks right upside down it will be right in its frame!!
 
let me know what you think in the comments below!!

KM says …
Mixing pigments! Trying to learn off You tube as best I can. Also paying for a few zoom sessions. No one mentions pigment numbers. I hear a name, but different brands use different pigments and different names and granulation varies for same pigment but different brand! I've mixed a lot of Mud from not paying attention to the number of pigments. I have a mostly transparent palette. I know, I know. Learn by doing and learn from experience. Love your positivity! Have a great time in Italy. Cheers KM
 
The problem with pigment numbers is that every manufacturer has their own recipe for a colour starting with a particular pigment, numbered and annotated on the colour label. And that’s pretty much where it ends!

Each manufacturer’s recipe will include other processes (eg kiln firing) and other additives and binders that, in varying quantities change the appearance of the colour name, making each a unique blend resulting in a unique colour.

For example Transparent Orange is the same pigment as Light Red but light red undergoes kiln firing which alters it’s characteristics to create a different colour, level of opacity, granulation etc etc. somewhat similar to Winsor Blue red and green shades.

Sometimes a pigment number can help you find a hue in another brand – one of my favourite painters uses a different brand to me, I love her colours – what’s more, I managed to find them using the pigments numbers cited by the manufacturer. This was a lucky find as I discovered I had the correct colours already in my favourite brand – they’re close enough given different computer monitor settings etc.

There is much discussion about only using “single” pigment colours. This is really a misdirection … I regularly use 6, 7 and 8 colours to achieve the value and temperature my painting needs. I also regularly use a brand known for combining 3-4 pigments – I’ve never had a problem mixing their colours.

This leads us to colours labelled as “hue”. In other words, a combination of pigments to achieve the colour of a particular pigment, eg Cobalt blue hue. The characteristics may differ ever so slightly from the genuine pigment, I assume this is to keep prices down for very expensive pigments eg cobalts, or reduce reliance on increasingly rare pigments eg quinacridone gold.
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Focus on irrelevant elements just take us away from painting and feeds our fear with details that may or may not impact our painting - we just need get on with it!!

non ferma cari amici!!

To be truthful, for me, grey is the most frightening colour – I don’t wear grey, I don’t like looking at it, I don’t have it in my house and I HATE grey cloudy days! So when I was told recently that my “greys” were greatly admired I was quite floored, this started a renewed process of investigation, what greys do I create and how do I use them?

Firstly, good quality watercolours are made from natural minerals (pigments) and due to these natural qualities, react and bounce off each other, quite fun to watch and experiment with. Manufactured blacks and greys are mostly made from a kiln firing process therefore they contain soot - for large washes they can be lifeless and dull and often dry substantially lighter than expected.

Secondly, in watercolour, our staples are our complementaries (red vs green, purple vs yellow etc). For example, to neutralise red, I add a little green, a secondary colour containing blue and yellow. When I add green to red I have 3 primaries which means the greying process is started.

I paint with tube paints and carefully select transparent watercolours, mostly I use Winsor & Newton pigments and then I add opaque or earth pigments for accents.

My favourite palette includes winsor blue (red shade), permanent alizarin crimson and burnt sienna. Sometimes I swap the blue for winsor blue (green) or French ultramarine and alizarin for permanent rose or another transparent “pink” like permanent magenta. I choose this palette because each of these colours have good tinting strength, therefore this palette, with just enough water to mix, will make an exciting and fresh dark and, with diluting, will create fantastic luminous greys. I start by making a violet, for shadow areas a cool violet (ie more blue, less red) and depending on the palette of the day, I may add burnt sienna.

For silvery greys try cobalt blue and permanent alizarin for a gorgeous violet then add just a wee touch of raw sienna or try winsor green and permanent alizarin or rose. Cerulean blue or cobalt blue plus burnt sienna, for darker greys try french ultramarine or indigo with burnt sienna. As you can see the sky’s the limit but of course this all depends on the pigments in your palette and what you can do with them – a matter of experimentation.

To start with, I mix light value greys in my palette but I make sure I can still see little pockets of the ingredient colours; in other words, sloppy, inefficient colour mixing is best, partly because it ensures there is no accidental overmixing and further, it allows the poetry of watercolour to show. After washing in a light value Grey around whites, I mix a stronger grey with the same pigments but in different ratios so that, for example, I wash a warm grey over a cool grey. I then select one of my accent colours and charge it in and then spatter some of the other colours while it’s still damp.

For me watercolour is about poetry, creating beauty and light and life. As Delacroix said 'Colour is the fruit of life' and developing a repertoire of greys will only enhance your colour work.

have fun playing!!
ciao
Amanda