From Blobs to Blooms: Getting Confident with Using Water in Watercolor

Watercolor has this amazing capacity to be activated and spread across the page by adding water.

The movement and interaction with water always takes my breath away even after painting for the last 5 years.

That said - water and I were not always friends. We didn't like each other initially. In fact - I had so much problems with it - I was not sure how much water to use, I didn't know how much water or paint to apply on my paper. I had moments where I did not use enough water. I didn't realise that the water in my brush could also impact my painting and even create unexpected color mixes on my paper while the paint and paper ate still wet.

Here are a series of floral painting videos that dive into using wet in wet technique.

These paintings have been completed using the Flower Color Guide.

These are quick tips for working wet in wet:

1. You can always wait for your layer of wet paint/ water to fully dry before adding another layer again (this prevents overworking!) Overworking happens when keep moving over the same area repeatedly with paint and your brush or adding more water/paint to the area. This results in weakened paper as it does not get a chance to dry.

2. If your water is sitting on top of your paper, you are either using the wrong kind of paper (cellulose or plywood) or adding too much water to your paper (oversaturated)

3. Think about your water sources on your set up (cups of water, brush, paper and palette)- it is so important to remember that a wet brush adds water to your painting and a wet palette is another culprit. If you pay attention to where your water sources are you can avoid adding unnecessary water blooms to your painting

4. Have a paper towel or towel ready - this is for blotting or removing excess water from your brush/ paper.

5. Use your brush as a water management tool or for controlling transitions in color/ values. You can dry off your brush and lift off excess water or paint with your dry/ damp brush.

I want to help you gain more confidence in using water to your paintings so that you can enjoy the beautiful effects that water can create with watercolor.

From Blobs to Blooms is a 90 min recorded zoom workshop where I give you the tools to become more confident with water and painting soft loose florals.

You can learn more about it here.

Also, hear it from some of my students:

"The fact that you don’t hold anything back and your organized from step 1 through all the steps. Your teaching style is very easy to follow. I learned more about water control from you in this workshop than I ever have from all the very expensive workshop/classes I’ve taken."
- Yvonne Sanders

"Jillian's B2B workshop was a game changer for me as she showed me how to use my now favorite brush for loose watercolor florals - the flat brush. Her class was thorough and made me understand all my brushes in a deeper way than I could ever bother discovering myself."
- Crystal Tan

"This was a great first wet on wet exercise for me. I stil need to work on water control but it was a good practice in layering and learning the wet stages. Love you teaching style because you share such practical and valuable tips!"
- Alison