The 3 Edges of Watercolor

Posted bydebirileyPosted inart, inspiration, painting, watercolorsTags:, , , , ,
soft Edges in Watercolor, debiriley.com

Watercolors can be simplified into 3 basic edges soft, medium and sharp.  And the tricky edge… is of course the in between one.  Come on and I’ll explain a few fast beginner pointers that will help!

3 edges watercolor, soft, hard edges, debiriley.com
3 Edges in Watercolor -soft, hard, medium

Watercolor – Soft edges,  Medium edges, Hard edges

Why should we care about watercolor edges?  What is the relevance? These 3 edges are key factors in creating depth and smooth transitions in our backgrounds, middlegrounds, and our foregrounds. These are simple, foundation watercolor basics. 

 

Watercolor Edges and the Beginner-

Watercolor is filled with peaks and valleys. Quantum leaps ahead and stale plateaus. For all of us.

But for the beginner, it seems like a never ending slog uphill at times!   Controlling the water on the brush and the paper is perhaps the biggest dilemma. The edges just seem out of control.

But, by Practicing these 3 edges – in series, and serious repetition –  I assure you will help you to achieve the quantum leaps you’re hoping for.

 

Soft Edges

Smoke and Fire image was begun wet in wet background, with only a tiny bit being harder edged.   Painted on Yupo paper.

Lunar Black, Quincacridone Sienna, Daniel Smith watercolors, debiriley.com
Smoke and Fire

Why

Soft blurred, out of focus edges create the illusion of the objects receding into the distance, thus you create more depth and perspective with this technique.

This watercolor edge is often underused. Perhaps because of the sequencing and timing issues. If you try to paint more very sloppy wet paint into this as its going dry,  you discover – disaster and mud.    Thus, many abandon the wet in wet technique too early.

 

How

You will always create a soft, blurred edge when you apply paint to a very wet paper surface. Many times I use the wet in wet technique for this purpose, especially for skies.

Wet the paper, all over. Double check it in the light.  Touch the wet receptive paper with the fully loaded brush tip and allow that paint to flood in, onto the paper by itself, without manhandling it.

Where

Generally,  in the backgrounds.  On occasion, elsewhere as called for by the subject being painting.

 

 

 

Hard Edges

Blue Bottles were an exercise in watercolor hard edges, painted on a totally dry paper.

drawing ideas, drawing with a wet brush, debiriley.com
Bottles in Blue

Why

The nearer the object is to you, the more in focus and sharper the edges will appear. Creating hard, sharp edges creates the illusion of nearness and depth.

 

How

Hard, sharp, crisp lined edges will always be created when you paint upon a perfectly dry paper.  If it is dry paper,  the edges will be sharp and hard.

 

Where

So ideally, we wish to have progressively sharper edges as they advance to the foreground. Meaning,  you need to have the background softer in order to have that latitude to work with.

Generally,  an object at the base, say the bottom of a bucket or rock,  will appear to be softer edged.  The top of that object will appear to be sharper and harder edged.

It is a good ‘habit’ to get into as a beginner, to follow these guides, in the beginning.

 

Creating the soft and hard edges are actually very easy to do. Beginners normally compensate by painting with hard edges only, due to the control they have with those edges; but often resulting in the loss of adequate depth and perspective.

Because, we generally need all  3 edges to make the image have better depth and perspective.   Creating all 3 edges gives the image a fighting chance for success. Its much more of a hit and miss if you only use 1 edge.

 

 

 

Medium Edges

Both Hillside images were created using the watercolor medium edge technique. Waiting…til the paper was just right. Then, the brush load was also – just right.   Another Goldilocks, yes?

soft Edges in Watercolor, debiriley.com
Burnt Hillside

Why

This watercolor medium edge isn’t sharp and hard,  but neither is it soft, out of focus.

It’s  In Between!

Its a transition edge,  that allows the eye to smoothly, wander from the background to the foreground and vice versa.

Without jarring or rough discordant ‘bouncing’ along.

 

Where

The Medium edge creates the Bridge between the distances and the planes of space within your painting.

This edge is a perfect edge for many middleground objects and shapes.

 

The ‘in between’ edge, is really the trickiest edge to master, taking the longest time and effort to get the hang of.

But,  practicing on scrap paper,   a simple brushstroke on ‘just damp’ paper in repetition for a few days will quickly show you how to get it right.

Repetition of the process,  is the key to its mastery. Cold Press paper is my suggestion for this as well.

 

How

The watercolor paper is at the ‘just damp’ stage.

Not dry, not sloppy wet.   Damp, as if you had just dampened or prewet a blouse to iron….  close enough analogy.

It must be damp all over, with no dry spots.  Definitely no puddles or pools of water.

If the paper or the paint, has a slight satin sheen to it…. that right there… is just about Perfect!!

 

Your brush.  Can not have a lot of wet, sloppy, dripping paint on it!!   It will need paint, but the paint needs to be on the slightly,  drier side.  With NO drips coming off the brush.

Proceed to take the brush and stroke it across the damp paper to see what type of edge was created.   Was the paper too wet?  Too dry?    Was the brush too wet?   Too dry?

Change those factors and repeat, until you become more at ease with the medium edge.

 

ultramarine blue hill watercolor, soft edges, debiriley.com
Blue Hill

 

None of these watercolor landscapes images were large; all were 5×7 or smaller.  Nice little practice sizes that were easy to deal with, very quick to do in a series and in repetitions.

 

My mind in each was set not on perfection, but on “Just do it and move on to the next. You are practicing. Not trying for a framed image. It is an exercise today.  Now, move along!”

Perhaps, by reiterating the fact several times,  that it is indeed Just An Exercise….  you also might loosen up and be a tad bit freer.

More relaxed and enjoy the process more.

 

 

Published by debiriley

The act of creation, in any media is a fascinating and magical process. I simply love to create. Expressing in color, line, tone, texture - as if, they were words upon a page. Creating a uniquely me, interpretation. Enjoy More of my "one-of-a-kind" expressive art at society6.com/debiriley and, redbubble.com/people/debijriley/shop

50 thoughts on “The 3 Edges of Watercolor”

    1. except for the ‘tricky’ edge.. lol; thank you Nico, I was wanting to do a long post this time. A good reference source for beginners down the track.

      Liked by 2 people

  4. I’ve driven past all of these places in Montana, except for one. The blue bottles were a surprise. Before I read the title I thought they resembled two penguins. The one on the right, walking, and the one on the left diving into the water (so he’s upside down). Lovely paintings, all of them, and great lessons in how to dabble with the materials.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I love the penguin idea! I should have gone with that… but no, plain old bottles. 🙂 Thank you so much, for another lovely thoughtful comment; much appreciated! Debi

      Liked by 1 person

  6. I never really thought about edges and apparently I work with hard edges mostly but now I’m very curious about how the rest works and looks! Very informative posts again!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you Sofie! We are all different 🙂 Every artist has their innate preferred edge – depending a bit on their personality I think too.

      Hard edges allow for a lot more
      Control, thats for sure.

      Like

    1. helloo Charlie! thank you most kindly! I’m so glad you enjoyed and found it useful.
      sometimes, we wonder if a post is a hit, or a dud. lol So, thank you for your very lovely comment! cheers, Debi

      Liked by 1 person

    1. Thanks so much for that Laura!! 🙂
      Well, my ebook is at page 29 without images at this point!
      Jodi’s hinting for me to learn to do ‘videos’ …..
      then I still need to get a SHOP found, organized and set up. 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

    1. hi Eileen, Thank you for a great comment!
      I’m the one in the class or meeting… always wanting to know – Why? And the facts, Details!
      (you can’t just take someone else’s opinion as gospel all the time, can you! LOL )

      Like

  12. One day I must copy all your good tips in order to learn more about aquarell painting. Love your examples, they are wonderful, Debi, cheers from the cold, Mitza

    Liked by 1 person

      1. I’m not sure, I have to look, but maybe. I was just about to buy something in ebay. Water colors are very expensive I have seen.

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      2. are they? If you did get some, maybe then just 1 Good one, like a burnt umber or phalo blue to start off with. that way you don’t waste money on the cheap rubbishy ones!! if you got 2, the umber & phalo are a great pair to start too. they are the least $$ of the colors, and quite Versatile in their use.

        Liked by 1 person

      3. mostly you have to take the container as it is and cannot choose the colors. do you know the German company “Schmincke” which makes high quality aquarell colors?

        Liked by 1 person

      4. Yes, Schmincke is quite good! but, thats a pity they don’t sell in individual tubes over there!! I’m shocked! Do you have Old Holland, Holbein, Winsor and Newton watercolor paints there? Very bad of the art stores, to not sell individual tubes.

        Liked by 1 person

      5. Maybe I didn’t explain it in a right way: you can buy individual tubes, but the things I saw in ebay were 12 colors which you couldn’t choose. So now I found somebody who sells individual tubes and tomorrow maybe I’m lucky to get these for little money. I think we also have Old Holland, Holbein (was a German painter) Winsor and Newton, but I found the best estimation for Schmincke. 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

  14. I do not paint watercolors, but LOVE yours! They are incredibly beautiful and I thoroughly enjoy all your lessons on techniques. You offer, share such a broad variety of tips and some can be applied to a certain extend for other applications. Undoubtedly you’re one of my favorite artist/teacher/blogger friends if I may say so! 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  15. These are beautiful. I wish I could paint in watercolours – I went out with an art teacher many moons ago and we used to got out and paint, but I just couldn’t get it somehow…

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you, for a lovely comment!
      I wish you could try again!
      worry/stress, trying to get it exactly – just right, not having enough beginner basics to start, and not having the simple (few) tools needed can contribute to w/c difficulties!
      THATs my story, and I’m sticking to it. 🙂 Cheers, Debi

      Liked by 1 person

  16. Edges are fascinating element to art, I’ve learned to really appreciate them. The Masters, were just that in managing their edges.

    Liked by 1 person

  17. Great Debi. Love the Yupo paper image. Introduced to it last year and find it produces the most unexpected and exciting responses to the paint as you show so beautifully.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you Jodi, your own Creativeness is also swoonworthy. you know your digital skills are fab!

      . once my mind is made up to limit the lines, shapes, details, …it does make it easier. but, sometimes I must be quite STERN with myself! smiling 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      1. oh – thanks – but really not – I have so much to learn. Isn’t that interesting that you must be STERN with yourself to limit to create such abstract free looking art. See – there you go teaching me. Refrain – limit – that is my lesson for today. 🙂

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