Hints and tips of reflecting texture with watercolour
The water colourists skill is truly tested when they need to represent the effects of weathering and the natural textures produced by the ageing of wood, stone and metal. Whether they’re doing a landscape or the background for a pet portrait, texture is a effective way of providing interest in a picture. Subjects such as this allow the artist to improve their handling of the paint. Certain textures might appear hard to paint, but with water colour you can simply suggest them with brushwork techniques.
One of the chief ways of depicting texture with water colour is to use the paper. Use the texture of rough paper and a dry brush to represent crumbling stone or pitted metal. Brushes made from course hair like hog, are primarily used for oil painting, but these can be used effectively to produce the streaked effect seen on tree bark or a weather-beaten wooden door.
Some colours may also seem to separate when mixed together creating a grainy effect. Ultramarine and burnt sienna are two colour that do this, though experiment with others. This grainy effect can be good for creating weathered stone or metal.
Texture effects are better used in moderation or seen in conjunction with contrasting effects.
There are colour combinations that reflect weathered materials well. For example, burnt sienna and rose madder are useful for little patches of rusty metal. Burnt sienna and cobalt blue produces a range of greys that are good for painting metal. Yellow ochre and burnt umber are a useful combination for a mixture of weathered effects from rust to decaying wood. Naples yellow and burnt sienna is used for freshly cut logs, whereas naples yellow and burnt umber can be used either for highlights in weathered wood and shadows. Vermillion and ultramarine is good for tiles, slates and bricks. When burnt sienna and cadmium yellow are used wet-in-wet, the resulting effect can be used as a base for rusty metal.
