Brattleboro Retreat Ice Pond

(C) 2017 Dale DiMauro

Prior to working on a watercolor I often paint a study as a warm-up exercise. This way I can try out new techniques or experiment with different pigments and on occasion even try a new kind of paper. 

I have been longing to paint on Arches 300lb hot press since ordering a five pack recently.  Normally I use either Arches or Saunders watercolor paper, but in the cold press version, which has some texture but is not rough. There are a variety of techniques an artist can achieve to great effect in these varying surfaces. This hot press surface is smooth as one can imagine, but I like how one can drop in pigment along the way once the paper is wet and push it around or lift the sheet and easily direct the pigment.

The other good thing about working on a study in watercolor is that you just get paint down without thinking too much. In my mind I usually have already considered the approach I would like to tackle on a given picture. This way you don't labor too much while being flexible along the way. Sometimes a happy accident ends up working it's way into a painting, which if you are open to, can be a good thing.