Last week I shared Secret #1: Give yourself the gift of creating a “Sketchbook Watercolor” habit.

The next seven secrets are about how and when to add more water to your watercolor practice.

Some of these simple essentials may be familiar to you already, but combined they will show you how to be sure you never again create a painting that looks a tad “dehydrated”!

(For Secret #2, remember that, for watercolorists, the word “palette” has two meanings: it is the metal or plastic container that holds the paint, and it also refers to the paint itself.)

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Secret #2 – How wet is your palette?

(from page 74 of “Look at That! – SECOND EDITION“)

As you may know, watercolor paint is sold in two forms:  in metal tubes where the paint is the texture of thick paste, and as dry solid cakes in small containers called pans. (Pans come in two sizes: half-pans and full pans.) For portability and ease of use, pans are great. Even if you squeeze out little bits of fresh paint every time you work, the leftover paint on your palette is perfectly reusable later. Just let it dry before you put it away and you will be able to reactivate it the same way pans are activated. (It’s funny, the word “activate” sounds fancy to me, like a chemical reaction. “Activation” is just allowing time for the water to soften the cake of dry pigment/gum arabic binder blend, so it will be accessible for painting.)

Pre-wet the Pans:

Before you start painting, spray a fine mist of water over all of your paint pans or use your brush to place a large dot of water on each pan of color.

It takes time for the water to seep down but you will quickly be able to pick up a small amount of paint at the very top of the pan to make a pale patch of pastel color. As each layer of your “pan cake” re-moisturizes, it will offer you more color. Please refrain from rushing the process by using your brush tip to force it to “activate” more quickly. You can easily wear out your brush tip, so be gentle and patient.

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That’s it for Secret #2. Simple right? This habit will become automatic if you add it to that lovely “pause-and-look around-you” time at the beginning of each sketching session.

An extra pause can be the magic solution any time your confidence or momentum wobbles. My technique to fix a moment of uncertainty is easy: Inhale, Stretch, Exhale.

These reset pauses feel oddly familiar, reminiscent of when you are waiting for your internet connection to catch up with whatever you asked it to do.

It feels to me like there is also something like a Wi-Fi connection between me and whatever I am sketching: if that signal is momentarily weak, of course I lose my place in the creative process! No problem, a simple pause-and-ponder clears it up every time. I said, “ponder,” not analyze or critique my work in progress! Instead, I gently say to my subject matter, “Excuse me, could you repeat that? I forgot where you want me to look… ahh, thank you, got it, now I see what’s next.”

So, activate your palette, inhale, exhale, and happy sketching (i.e., drawing or painting or both!)

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*** If you would like to purchase a copy of “Look at That! – SECOND EDITION” be sure to look for the version with the green stripe down the left side of the cover, and the words “SECOND EDITION” in the blue cloud at the top of the cover. The best shortcuts to find this new book are below: simply click on whatever version you prefer.

“Look at That! – SECOND EDITION”

Hardcover — Paperback — eBook

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