The HR Meininger Company 2001, All Rights Reserved. Watercolor paints are made of pigments mixed with gum Arabic. Watercolors are known for their luminous transparency, although gouache is considered an opaque watercolor technique. The brushes used to apply watercolors are short handled and are usually made out of natural sable hair but synthetic brushes can also be used. Natural hair will absorb and hold more water than a synthetic brush.
Watercolors can come in dry cakes or tubes of paste-like color.
Both forms require plenty of watercolor Watercolor artists paint on special paper. Today we will learn basic watercolor techniques and experiment with different watercolor materials. Wet each piece of watercolor paper in a shallow pan and let it drip dry. Then pat it dry in between 2 towels until it is just damp. Sandwich it between 2 pieces of wax paper and lay it on a cookie sheet.