One to rinse the pigment out of your brush when you change colors and one that stays clean.

You will want clean water when you activate pigment to mix up another hue. Dirty rinse water makes a HUGE difference if you are in need of a nice bright yellow. Please trust me on this one :o)

Also, you should have clean water available when working wet-on-wet.

If you choose to use only one container or cup of water, I suggest you choose a large one (perhaps a recycled butter tub) so that the pigment rinsed out of your brush will be as diluted as possible and you won’t need to refresh the rinse water so quickly after you begin painting.

To answer this I will first point out that the name of the medium is watercolor. The pigments included in the kit are in solid form waiting to be activated with water and used in your project. I suggest using the pipette to add 3 or 4 drops of water to the colors you intend to use and allow a few minutes to pass allowing the paint to soften a bit. You will want the paint to be fluid enough to flow onto the paper from your brush smoothly.

Test the paint on the test strip or practice card (or on the back of your painting to check the intensity of the color – add water a few drops at a time to arrive at the saturation of color you are hoping for. (keep in mind that watercolors will dry to a slightly lighter hue than they appear to you when wet.

If you are hoping for a very pale color, I suggest that you put a squirt of clean water into an empty palette well then load your brush with pigment and swirl it into the water to dilute the paint. Keep in mind that the hue of color will appear slightly lighter once it is dry. If the color is too pale after is has fully dried, you can use the same paint to add a glaze over the first layer.

Watercolor paint, as well as a glaze of water, will wick into any moisture present on your paper that it bumps up against (often referred to as a bloom). Use this knowledge to your advantage!

To paint in an area adjacent to a section that is freshly painted you do have a few options:

• Set down your brush and wait for the freshly painted area to dry completely

• Choose a different spot to paint, then come back to this original area.

• If available, use a blowdryer to quicken the drying process.

• Paint the adjacent area while leaving a small amount of space to remain unpainted between the moist areas. Do this with the understanding that there will be a fine line breaking up the sections.

OR you can choose to paint the areas and see what happens!

The colors may mix together and you can end up with something that is truly unique and that you absolutely love!

Experiment on the practice strip first if you like, then "go for it".

STAGE ONE

Freshly applied watercolor paint is fluid and very shiny in appearance. The paint can be easily pushed and manipulated with your paintbrush and well as by tilting the paper.

​STAGE TWO

As the water in the paint evaporates the painted area looses its sheen and takes on a velvety appearance. In this stage the pigment has not yet settled into the fibers of the paper and can be manipulated in a variety of ways, including but not limited to using salt, plastic wrap and assorted objects to create textures as the pigment dries.

STAGE 3

The paint is now dry to the touch and the pigment has settled into the paper fibers. In this stage the dried paint can be rewetted with water and pigment can be "lifted" to add highlights or to "fix" small areas. Dry paint can be glazed with a 2nd layer of the same or a different color to optically mix a new hue.