Experimenting with water colors. Below is an exercise in choosing colors and how to fill up space.

I’m also getting acquainted with the materials. I used dry water colors, but I think I prefer the liquid kind in tubes. Once I learned to get the right consistency, I realized that no matter what the ratio is of water to paint, I wouldn’t be able to make it look good if it was applied on too thickly.

In my head, I wanted the color to be vibrant and opaque, like ink, but it looked caked on and over-worked.

The blue circles were given one or two applications and even look pretty, while the red circles on the right were given five or six applications. Eventually, I washed off the excess red but it still looks comparatively dull and plain.

Materials:

Water color paper (Strathmore 400)

Water color (Roel, Acuarelas Italianas)

Coffee as a base wash