My method of adding a wash of color came to me one day when I was pondering how I could make my ink drawings more interesting.   After a few attempts at limiting where I put color,  I was delighted with the results of adding a single stroke of a mixed color wash.  I enjoy playing with the color.  It’s fun to see how the pigment will run and how just a bit of color can transform a simple drawing.

Really the only way to show you this technique is with a video complete with narration.

There are two important things  about my technique.  The first, as you can see,  is that I use a lot of water to let the colors flow together. The second is that I try to stop before I think I’m done.     Less is more when it comes to watercolor washes. I know fluid watercolor is unpredictable and, quite frankly, scary.  To me that’s the fun of it – the colors run and mix together and create beautiful transparencies.

I’d never timed it before but I always  guessed that I spent about five minutes adding color to a drawing that may have taken two or more hours.  The video is six minutes, so my guesses were close.  After this drawing dried a bit,  I added just a few highlights  for punch – more intense color inside the entry and windows, a bit of color on fence post.