atercolour Exercise

Introduction

I was in a #Grouper class today, but it was part two of a part one I missed.

Instead I did a quick exercise from a short video on Instagram from Sarah Cray- Watercolor exercise - Flowing Paint. Note that I didn't use any salt as she did. Next time!

Steps

  1. Mixed two of my favourite pigments to make another favourite, a rich, deep chromatic black.

    Pigments Used: A close-up of two watercolor tubes on a green cutting mat. The left tube is Winsor & Newton Professional “French Ultramarine,” labeled in English and French, with a deep blue color. The right tube is Daniel Smith Extra Fine Watercolors “Quinacridone Burnt Orange,” displaying a warm, earthy brown label.

    Mixed

    Pigments Mixed on Palette: A thick, creamy mixture of dark paint on a white palette. The mix is an almost black color with subtle hints of blue and brown undertones, showing streaks and smears from blending the French Ultramarine and Quinacridone Burnt Orange pigments.

  2. The first go was just me getting used to working with paint this thick, and trying to make it flow:

    Watercolor Experiment on Paper: A textured watercolor composition featuring dark brown-black paint in the middle with dense, opaque application. The pigment transitions outward with water blooms at the top and bottom, creating soft, diluted gradients where the colors begin to separate slightly, revealing warm orange and cool blue undertones. A handwritten label reads, “WN French Ultramarine × DS Quin Burnt Orange, 2025-01-29.” The artwork is signed “tt25” in the bottom right corner.

  3. Then I got the hang of it

    A soft and atmospheric watercolor landscape painted using a blend of French Ultramarine and Quinacridone Burnt Orange. The composition features a tree-lined horizon reflected on calm water below. The trees, rendered in muted browns and grays, rise in slender, blurred forms that fade into a misty, diffused background. The technique involves controlled water blooms and subtle color separation, creating an ethereal and serene effect. A small handwritten label in the top-left corner reads “DS QBO × WN FU 2025-01-29 #2.” The artwork is signed “tt25” in the bottom right corner.

  4. I mixed up another pair of favourite pigments to make a deep dark green

    Pigments Used: Two watercolor tubes placed on a green cutting mat. The left tube is Winsor & Newton Professional “Payne’s Gray,” with a cool, muted gray label. The right tube is Winsor & Newton Professional “Quinacridone Gold,” featuring a vibrant golden-yellow label with a hint of pigment residue on the side.

    Pigments Mixed on Palette: A dark greenish-black mixture spread thickly across a white palette. The mix has a creamy consistency, revealing slight variations in tone with hints of yellow-gold and gray streaks from the combined pigments.

  5. It worked really well with this technique

    Watercolor Painting: A moody landscape with abstract tree forms rising from the middle and reflecting on the water below. Dark, bold strokes form two parallel lines where pigment was applied with full strength, fanning out and blending into soft, organic shapes through water blooms. Some areas show distinctive directional marks, created by blowing through a straw. The predominant color is a deep green with subtle golden undertones. A handwritten label in the top-right corner reads, “DS Payne’s Gray × Quin Gold 2025-01-29 #3.” The "DS" is incorrect, as mentioned in the first image in this set, and should be "WN" for "Winsor & Newton". The artwork is signed “tt25” in the bottom right corner.

  6. I mixed another pair of pigments I didn't really know

    Pigments Used: Two watercolor tubes placed on a green cutting mat. The left tube is Winsor & Newton Professional “Terre Verte,” with a light, muted green label. The right tube is Winsor & Newton Professional “Indian Red,” displaying a warm, earthy red label. Both tubes are Series 1 professional-grade watercolors.

  7. This one was an utter failure. Terra Verte didn't do anything to the Indian Red. I used up a third of a tube of the Verte and the mix was still completely red, darker by only a tiny bit.

  8. Miraculously :smirk:, I "saved" the painting by blotting almost everything off, then using my paint rag to stipple on some of the other mixes

    Watercolor Stippling Experiment: A textured, abstract watercolor composition created through a stippling technique. The base consists of a mixture of Terre Verte and Indian Red, with layers of pigments stippled over the dried base using mixes from previous experiments. The artwork features earthy greens, reddish-browns, and dark accents spread irregularly across the surface, giving it a dense, organic appearance. A label at the bottom reads, “WN Terre Verte × WN Indian Red 2025-01-29 #4,” and it is signed “tt25” in the bottom right corner.

    (NOTE: I don't actually consider this a fix, more of a work out my frustrations moment)

Materials

Surface: Etchr watercolour A5 landscape sketchbook, 100% cotton, 140lb cold press Paint: Daniel Smith Quin Burnt Orange. Winsor & Newton: French Ultramarine, Payne's Grey, Quin Gold, Terre Verte, Indian Red. The labels on the images mistakenly identify some of the pigments with "DS" for Daniel Smith, when in fact they are Winsor & Newton. Tools: offset long palette knife, Princeton 1" Flat Mottler brush

Thoughts and Learnings

A huge part of the fun of painting watercolours is watching the paint move and change in real time right in front of me. Folks joke about "watching paint dry" but puddly wet watercolour takes a long time to dry and it's constantly changing.