Previously, I talked about the paint brush as a sponge, there will be much more about brushes and how their characteristics as a sponge can be altered by their design and their bristle material. But that’s a deeper level of detail for the moment. For now, I want to stay focused on putting pigment on to paper and the “why and how” we can control that process.

Our next sponge is the watercolor paper itself. In a later post we will go in depth to learn about a lot of the details about the paper making process and the things that can affect the characteristics of watercolor paper.

For the most part watercolor paper can be described by four moisture states. It is either bone dry (DRY), 100% saturated (WET), half wet / half dry (MOIST) or mostly dry (DAMP). Watercolor paper straight out of the package or pad is bone dry. Paint can be applied to it while the paper is still bone dry. The paint pigment suspended in a solution of mostly water actually floats on the surface of the watercolor paper until some of the water is absorbed into the paper surface and the rest of the water evaporates while the pigment  remains deposited on the paper fibers. As you will see, it is much more difficult to regulate the moisture states of paper than for brushes. And, an important conceptual understanding about a sheet of paper and its sponge characteristics is that it isn’t homogeneous. You can think of the sheet of paper as potentially containing a vast number of sponge areas and these areas can exist simultaneously in different moisture states. That is to say that the paper can act like lots of tiny sponges that when adjacent can influence each other. You may only be using one brush sponge at an instant but the paper is potentially many different sponges each of which will react differently to the brush and pigment. More on this later.

There are only four ways to apply paint to paper: (1) dry on dry (2) wet on dry (3) dry on wet (4) wet on wet. These are brush to paper area moisture relationships.

Dry on dry refers to using a damp dry brush to spread pigment on to bone dry paper. The paint is easily controlled and does not move once applied. This is one method of producing a rough brush texture effect. 

Wet on dry is similar to dry on dry. The paper is still bone dry, but the paint is applied using a “controllable wet” brush (half wet / half dry). This adds the ability to vary the value, lightness or darkness, of the stroke by varying the ratio of water to pigment in the brush. Like in the case of dry on dry, the paint does not move around on the paper once applied. This type of application gives you a hard, sharp edged texture shape. 

Dry on wet is painting on wet paper with a brush loaded with pigment and very little water. Basically a damp dry brush. This type of application produces beautiful diffusions of color and value, yet it allows for precise control of the painted shapes. This gives you a soft edge to your strokes. 

Wet on wet is similar to dry on wet as we are painting on wet paper but now with a “controllably wet” brush. This procedure is used when beautiful diffusions are required but when retaining a particular shape is not. This is the most difficult type of application to control and is probably most accountable for watercolor getting the distinction of having a mind of it’s own.   Notice as the paint moves on the paper there are soft vein like edges.