The Rules of Watercolor

      There are not many "Rules" to watercolor paint, but here are a few you must know if you want to tackle watercolor:

Rule #1: Paint from light to dark. With watercolor, you cannot correct a mistake or lighten a part of your picture. The colors are very transparent. You darken the areas you want darker after (shadows, dark lines, etc.) Paint everything you want light first, then darken to how you want.

Rule #2: Saving Whites. If you have white in your picture, you can't paint it after. The paper you are painting on is your white. If you are confidant enough, paint around the areas you want to leave white. If you are not, like me, use "Frisket". This protects your white areas so you can paint over them with no worries. When you're done in with color, you can erase it off - I use tape to peel it off. If worse comes to worse, you can use acrylic white, but try not to cheat! I only use it when I am creating snowflakes.

Rule #3: When painting, add clean water to the entire section of where you want to paint. The color will only go where the water is. (Unless of course you use dry brush, and purposely paint directly on a section.) But with watercolor, try to avoid dry brush unless you are doing fine lines and little details.

      Other than that, your painting is yours. Do what you like and find what works best for you. Watercolor is the most difficult kind of painting because its very unforgiving, so be patient, it will only get better. Practise, actually does make perfect.