Ten Top Tips Using Watercolour Paint

1. Water-soluble mediums look different in colour when dry, therefore adding water and swatching the colours is useful. Swatching enables you to familiarise yourself with the paint’s opacity/transparency, glazing abilities and how easy they are to lift when dried. All 24 colours have been expertly developed and chosen to meet the needs of both beginner and advanced watercolour artists, and have a high lightfast rating, meaning even under long exposure to light, they won't fade for many years.

2. Using wet on wet technique, apply paint to a wet surface to create exciting effects to your artwork. The colours dry approximately 25% lighter, so the more water you add, the lighter the dried shade will be. Pre-wetting the pans a few minutes before use ensures the paints are ready to go when you are. 

3. Working with wet on dry technique, load your brush with plenty of paint and begin laying smooth strokes from left to right and then right to left, trying not to completely overlap the previous stroke. Keep the bead of paint moving whilst keeping your brush on the paper. 

4. When an initial layer is completely dry, you can then add another layer of transparent colour, either onto the dry paper or pre-wetting the paper with clean water first. Glazing multiple layers adds depth to colours by either intensifying an existing colour or by adding a different colour to change the hue of a specific area. The wonderful transparent qualities of these watercolour paints means that they can be used for this technique. Amethyst, Dark Violet and Ultramarine work wonderfully for creating shadow glazes. 

5. Use the colour Chinese White, not only to lighten colours but to also create subtle highlights on your painting. Remember to leave this step until last in your painting, as the pigment will reactivate if water is added once dry. For a more opaque look use less water.

6. These highly pigmented watercolour paints have been expertly formulated to dry with an ultra-smooth appearance throughout the colour range. This is due to the finely ground lightfast pigments and resulting translucent qualities. This smooth consistency means that the paint can be effortlessly layered regardless of colour, omitting the chances of unwanted, uneven results.
Try combining techniques by applying a flat wash of the lightest colour first, followed by darker glazes to either intensify the existing colour or to alter the colour hue. Lift lighter areas as you go, where needed and add your highlights using Chinese White to finish. 

7. When layers are dry, paint can now be lifted to create highlights. Use a clean damp brush to wet the area, then dab the pigment off with a clean tissue. If you want an area to remain white avoid painting this area, or apply either masking tape or masking fluid before painting. Remove the masking once the painting is dry.

8. Adding salt to a wet paint layer; adds a textured look and the results will differ depending on the salt crystal size and how wet the paint is. This technique is best used with darker colours or glazes, such as Amethyst, Magenta, Ultramarine and Jade Green, as the results will have more contrast with the white of the paper. Once you’ve added the salt, let the layer dry naturally. *Table salt used on the left and Rock salt used on the right.

9. Use the Derwent Push Button Waterbrushes with their range of tip sizes and shapes, to add diverse brush strokes to your painting, with the larger tipped brushes making it easier to work on a larger scale. Spray water directly on to a paper surface, using the Derwent Spritzer to wet the paper before applying paint to maintain a saturated workable area or spray directly over water-soluble drawings to disperse colour.

10. There is nothing more freeing than painting outdoors, so with this compact, portable watercolour palette and some paper, you are all set to go. You may want to take along a bottle of water to replenish your water brush from time to time. When swapping between colours, it’s a good idea to give the brush a little squeeze and a droplet of water will clean the brush tip for you, when wiped on a tissue. Always remember to replace the brush lid when packing up after painting to protect the brush tip.

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