Achieving Bright Colours in Watercolours

My two new series of paintings at the Da Artisti Gallery have very bright colours. This is not easy to do in watercolours. Here are a few tricks I use to achieve pure, intense colors and a full range of values.

1. Paint
I use artist quality paints. These have more color and less binder, which means extra pigment on the paper and more concentrated intensity.

2. Glazing
Since watercolours are 50% lighter when dry than it looks when it’s wet, I apply many layers of paint to increase the intensity of the colours.

3. Fresh paint
In the past year I more often squeeze fresh paint out of the tube. These means I use less water and more intensity then if I was re-wetting dried up paint.

4. Values
I look for areas where I will juxtapose the white of the paper against a dark colour (greater value) to help make key areas of the painting pop.

5. Time and Distance
I take a photo of the near finished painting and look at it on my monitor for a couple of days to ensure my eyes aren't playing tricks on me. Detaching oneself from the painting is important to self critiquing one's work.

Contact me if you are interested in knowing more about these tips.

Here is the latest painting that I'm currently working on. It will be finished in the next couple of days and will be joining similar others in the Da Artisti Gallery.




Have a great week,
Danielle