Master Watercolor by “Drawing with the Brush”

This video addresses the common frustrations faced by watercolor learners, proposing a core piece of advice: “draw with the brush.” The central theme is to embrace a spontaneous, direct painting method without any pre-planning or pencil sketching, allowing for fresher and more dynamic results.

Key Principles & Techniques Demonstrated:

• Direct Application: The artist begins by painting a simple house shape directly with blue paint, immediately “drawing with the brush.” This sets the foundation for the entire piece.
• Working Wet-in-Wet: Speed is emphasized to keep the paint damp, allowing subsequent colors (like warm yellows and reds for foliage) to blend softly and interact naturally on the paper. The video shows how to extend washes and encourage colors to bleed together, creating organic effects and greens where blue and yellow meet.
• Embracing Unpredictability: Watercolor “thrives on random events.” Viewers are encouraged to let colors mix and flow, even deliberately touching wet areas to create unique, unforced transitions. A key takeaway is to “not fiddle” and trust the process.
• Building Form & Depth:
  • The painting develops by extending initial shapes, adding foliage, and then introducing shadows (using Prussian blue) that connect to still-damp areas for soft, unpredictable bleeds.
  • The artist works from light to dark, using the white of the paper for highlights. Dark accents (e.g., for windows, doors, tree details using negative painting) are added last to define forms and create impact.
  • Simple color mixes are used effectively (e.g., blue + burnt umber for grays).
• Practical Advice:
  • Use the largest brush possible for as long as possible to encourage bolder strokes and prevent overworking.
  • “Don’t overthink it… just do it.” Trust your intuition and enjoy the process.
  • Techniques like dry brush for texture and softening edges with a damp brush are shown.
  • Managing paint consistency and “beading” (excess paint) is addressed.

Conclusions & Takeaways:

The video concludes that “drawing with the brush” is a liberating and effective watercolor technique. It encourages painters to be bold, work fluidly, and embrace the natural behavior of the medium. This approach helps create expressive art and fosters a deeper understanding of watercolor by focusing on direct brushwork and learning from “happy accidents.” The ultimate goal is to enjoy the painting process and achieve more satisfying results.

Source: Watercolour BASICS – Draw With The Brush