Exciting New Watercolor Technique

(C) 2016 Dale DiMauro

This may seem like an odd little post. Nonetheless, the other day my art mentor Gerard Doucette, recommended I try a technique which suggests movement on the surface of a still body of water. It is the kind of surface disturbance you see on small lakes and ponds around where we live here in Vermont.

The above photograph is a detail from a watercolor I am not far from finishing. The blue-green foreground represents the water on a pond with a pine tree in the foreground, to the left. 

When using a flat brush, held vertically, a painter in watercolor can achieve this phenomenal result. By using a damp brush, with a horizontal motion, which strengthens the perspective, you lift pigment from the paper with a paper towel. Prior to this step, you need to have put down the pigment(s) that you are using to represent the body of water. All the whitish streaks on the area of water are the result of this technique. I have far from mastered the technique but it holds much promise.

It does take practice to perfect the technique and acquire good judgement but the results are amazing.