Watercolor fundamentals

Watercolor is an artistic technique that uses water-soluble paint to create images on paper. It stands out for its transparency, luminosity and delicacy.

Its name comes from the Italian acquerello. It is a very old practice whose splendor is attributed to the German artist Albrecht Dürer in the 15th century.

There are several types of watercolor on the market and, to make your search easier, we've grouped them into two: pan watercolors and tube watercolors.

Click the category cards to discover the differences and decide which one fits your work best.

For pros and beginners the materials are the same; the key is to buy the best possible quality of each to make learning easier.

Basic list: watercolor set (pans or tubes), round brushes in several sizes, specific watercolor paper, a rigid board, masking tape, mixing palette, water container and absorbent paper.

You only need patience, a desire to learn and to enjoy the process. Basic techniques include wet-on-wet, wet-on-dry, gradients, glazes and preserving whites.

Before starting, always make a color test: load the brush with diluted paint and work from the darkest to the lightest tone to see how each color dries.

In watercolor, white is usually the paper itself: you reserve it by leaving areas unpainted or using masking fluid. It's a debated topic among artists.

There is also Chinese White pigment (zinc oxide), although many purists prefer to reserve the paper's white to keep the characteristic luminosity.

Pigments provide color and range from the most transparent to the most opaque depending on their origin. Organic ones offer transparency and strength; inorganic ones, opacity and lightfastness.

Professional brands use exclusive pigments that define them and offer purer, cleaner colors. Notable brands: Schmincke, Winsor & Newton, Sennelier, Rembrandt, Daniel Smith.