The watercolor that I am in the process of completing is beginning to vex me not a little. Building up a painting is a slow methodical process. The ease to err is somewhat overwhelming, and although there are times of panic, there are also moments of exhilaration.

It is important that an artist plan their washes and glazes. I find this rule never more true than in this painting. The foliage behind the characters in the picture can easily become muddy with too much glazing. For this reason I’ve allowed no more than three glazes of paint in any area.

Any time I am painting, I have to fight impatience. I don’t think I am that much different from many artists. We all want a masterpiece to come together in an hour or less, but with watercolors one must learn to let them completely dry before trying to build up the colors, unless you are working wet into wet.

It helps if you are working on more than one painting at a time. This way, you can be working on one while the other dries.

As a painting is built up, there are two frustrating problems that tend to arrive. The first is knowing when to step back, review, and stop. If you don’t, the second problem tends to occur, and that is the appearance of mud. This is why I have a discipline to not touch the same spot more than three times.

When all that is needed in area is a simple wash, then use only a simple wash. Don’t be afraid to use enough of a color in the brush than relying on building up the color so much. When I first began with watercolors, I felt I had to use less paint and more washes to build up the color, but now I am more brave with using less wash overs.

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