Category Archives: Mystery Technique

Mystery Technique

Mystery Technique #108

October 20, 2021 – 6:41 pm

Curious about the techniques used to paint this caterpillar? You can learn more next month if you’ve signed up for email updates!

ANSWER TO MYSTERY TECHNIQUE #107:

It’s wonderful how much variety Granulation Medium can add! I started by making swirling strokes with water and a large modified brush, then dropped in diluted yellow, using acrylic ink to prevent the color from lifting. I used a liner brush to make a few thinner strokes. After that layer dried, I made more swirling strokes with a mix of diluted Hydrus watercolors and Winsor & Newton’s Granulation Medium. Tilting the paper from side to side increased the granulating effects. For the third layer, I added more yellow and a mixed yellow green for more variety and depth.

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Mystery Technique

Mystery Technique #107

September 20, 2021 – 3:25 pm

Curious about the techniques used here? You can learn more next month if you’ve signed up for email updates!

ANSWER TO MYSTERY TECHNIQUE #106:

Here’s a sample of some different ways to use watercolor pencils; since the marks tend to disappear into the paint, these are on unpainted watercolor paper. You can experiment with working on dry versus wet paper or wetting the tip of the pencil to deposit more pigment in an irregular way. The brush and damp piece of sponge help me blend the pencil into the surface. Prismacolor and Derwent are my favorite brands. In next image, I’ve used the pencils to sketch in the edges of some roots:

Now I’ve added another layer of paint in a few places:

See if you can spot where I added some pencil for a little more texture:

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Mystery Technique

Mystery Technique #106

August 21, 2021 – 12:40 am

Watercolor pencils are great for making subtle changes! Next month you can learn more about how I use them if you’ve signed up for email updates!

ANSWER TO MYSTERY TECHNIQUE #105:

Here are the paints I used for the tree roots, a liner brush for details, and a piece of the same painted paper:

I started by wetting the paper, then dropped in a mix of several Dr. Ph. Martin’s Hydrus watercolors, Winsor & Newton’s Granulation Medium, and more water to make the paint flow. Tilting the paper in different directions increased the textural effects. After the paper dried, I cut out the tree shapes and added shadows and details. Here’s a work in progress with the same torn paper stencil and modified bristle brush I used last month:

The color is a mixture of Ultramarine and Daniel Smith’s Lunar Black. You can see a test of the dry brush technique on the stencil. By painting a dark value along the edge of the stencil, I created a greater sense of depth:

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