Mapping your Watercolor Chart

How do we begin to learn about watercolor? Explore the properties of watercolor: color and transparency.

PART A: in class

We will begin by creating a color chart of the pigments you will work with this semester. The materials required are listed at the bottom of this post. A short, fun video which describes the process we will begin with can be viewed here:

Video demonstration

comprehensive watercolor history

complete color chart and here.

After completing a chart which documents the pigments and values you are starting with, we'll create a chart which combines these colors via the techniques described below.

PART B: homework

Create a chart which documents your watercolor pigments and the various combinations possible through overlaying, or glazing layers of color. The purpose of creating the chart below is to see how colors interact when they’re superimposed, rather than mixed wet. After one color swatch is painted and allowed to dry, a second color is painted over it.

To begin, use pure pigment from your tubes on a diagonal from lower left to upper right, are: brightest yellow to red, permanent alizarin crimson, ultramarine blue, cerulean blue, and finally green. Each possible mixture sits at the intersection of a horizontal row and a vertical column.

The arrow, for example, shows a combination of permanent alizarin crimson and ultramarine blue. Farther to the right, the mixture of green and alizarin crimson makes a beautiful gray whose component colors are still visible.

The final exercise shows how you can create different colors by glazing(A wash dried + B wash). The diagonal colors are the pure pigments and on either side of the diagonal one can see how the colors combine. As glazes one can see the differences between having each color layered underneath and on top of all the other colors. Under each swatch there's a little formula telling what is there. Color A is the color underneath and color B is on top. A + B = what you see.


Materials required:
(see syllabus below for specific sizes and resources)
a set of / all of your tubes of watercolor pigment
medium size flat and pointed watercolor brushes
watercolor paper / pad
two water containers
water
white artist tape
pencil
drawing board
paper towels
ruler


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