A. Creating and Presenting · Creating Art: The Creative Process, Design and Studio Techniques

Painting Media and Techniques

A3.1 C1.2 C2.1About 75 minutes

Learning goals

I can compare watercolour, tempera or gouache, and acrylic, and choose one for a purpose.
I can use brushes, washes, layering, glazing, dry brush and impasto techniques.
I can plan a painting in stages: drawing, underpainting, blocking in, building and details.
I can care for brushes and clean up paint safely and responsibly.

Words to know

watercolour
A transparent water-based paint; the white of the paper provides the lights.

gouache
An opaque water-based paint, similar to watercolour but with more pigment and filler.

tempera
Here: poster or school tempera, an inexpensive, opaque water-based paint. (Traditional egg tempera uses egg yolk as a binder.)

acrylic
A water-based paint that dries quickly into a flexible, water-resistant plastic film.

transparent
Lets light and the layers beneath show through.

opaque
Covers what is beneath.

glaze
A thin, transparent layer of paint over a dry layer, which changes its colour.

underpainting
A first layer of paint, often one colour, that sets up values and composition.

binder
The ingredient that holds pigment together and sticks it to the surface (gum arabic in watercolour, acrylic polymer in acrylic).

Remember from earlier grades

In earlier grades you painted with tempera or watercolour, and in Grade 7 you created transparent colour with glazes and tissue paper. In Grade 9 you will compare paint media on purpose and use specific techniques for each.

What paint is made of

All paint has two main parts:

Pigment: finely ground coloured powder.
Binder: the "glue" that holds the pigment and sticks it to the surface.

Change the binder and you change how the paint behaves. Watercolour uses gum arabic and is transparent. Gouache has more pigment and a chalky filler, so it is opaque. School tempera (poster paint) is opaque and inexpensive. Acrylic uses an acrylic polymer that dries into a flexible plastic film; it can be thinned to be transparent or used thick and opaque.

Medium	Transparent or opaque	Dries	Good for	Watch out for
Watercolour	Transparent	Fast; can be re-wet	Skies, washes, light and glow	You can't easily paint light over dark; plan the whites
Gouache / tempera	Opaque	Fast; can be re-wet	Flat, bold colour; design; fixing mistakes	Can crack if very thick; colours shift as they dry (light colours often dry darker, dark colours lighter)
Acrylic	Either (thin or thick)	Very fast; permanent when dry	Layering, impasto, glazing, painting on many surfaces	Ruins brushes and clothes if left to dry; dries a little darker

Comparing three water-based paints you can use at home.

The same yellow painted over a black line on white paper. Transparent paint lets what is underneath show through, so you plan light to dark and save the white of the paper. Opaque paint covers what is beneath, so you can paint light over dark and fix mistakes.

Brushes and tools

Round: pointed tip; thin to thick lines depending on pressure; detail.
Flat: square end; broad strokes and crisp edges.
Filbert: flat with a rounded end; soft edges, blending.
Fan: spread bristles; texture.
Palette knife: mixes paint and applies thick paint (impasto).

Brush hair matters: soft synthetic or natural hair holds lots of water (watercolour); stiff synthetic bristles push thick paint (acrylic). A sponge, an old toothbrush (spatter), a piece of card (scraping) and a plastic bag (texture) are also painting tools.

Four common brush shapes and the marks they make. Round: thick-to-thin lines and details, depending on pressure. Flat: broad, even strokes and crisp edges (turn it on its edge for a thin line). Filbert: a flat brush with a rounded tip; soft-edged strokes like petals. Fan: spread bristles for grass, fur and texture.

Watercolour techniques

Flat wash: tilt the paper slightly; load a big brush; pull overlapping horizontal strokes down the page, keeping a wet bead of paint along the bottom edge.
Graded wash: the same, but add water to the brush each stroke so it fades.
Variegated wash: two or more colours flow together while wet (a sunset).
Wet-on-wet: brush clean water on the paper first, then drop in colour. Soft, unpredictable blooms.
Wet-on-dry: paint on dry paper for crisp edges and details.
Dry brush: very little water; the brush skips across the paper's texture (bark, rough water).
Lifting: dab wet paint with a tissue or a damp brush to lighten it (clouds).
Salt: sprinkle table salt on a wet wash; it absorbs paint into star-like textures (snow, stars). Brush it off when dry.
Wax resist: draw with a white crayon or candle first; the paint slides off the wax (snowflakes, highlights on water).

Work light to dark, and leave the paper white where you want white.

Opaque and acrylic techniques

Blocking in: paint the big areas of colour first, then refine.
Layering: light can go over dark once the layer is dry.
Glazing: thin, transparent acrylic over a dry layer to deepen or shift colour (a blue glaze over yellow looks green).
Impasto: thick paint with a knife or stiff brush for texture.
Scumbling: a thin, broken layer of light paint over a darker dry one (mist, haze).
Blending: work two wet colours together on the surface for a gradation.

Five basic watercolour techniques. Flat wash: even colour with overlapping horizontal strokes. Graded wash: add water to each stroke so the colour fades. Variegated wash: two or more colours flow into each other. Wet-on-wet: paint on damp paper for soft blooms. Wet-on-dry: paint on dry paper (or let a layer dry first) for crisp edges and overlaps.

Planning a painting in stages

Thumbnails and value plan (as in earlier lessons).
Light drawing on the painting surface.
Underpainting (acrylic or gouache): a thin wash of one colour, often a warm earth colour, to set values and cover the white.
Block in the big shapes in middle values.
Build the darks and lights, adjusting colour and edges.
Details and highlights last, mostly at the focal point.
Step back often and squint.

Surfaces: watercolour needs heavy watercolour paper (at least 300 g/m² is common); acrylic works on canvas, canvas board, heavy paper, wood or cardboard primed with gesso or a coat of white acrylic.

Worked example

Let's paint a winter sunset in watercolour

Plan the order of steps for a small watercolour of a sunset behind a row of dark spruce trees, with snow in the foreground.

Draw the horizon and tree line lightly in pencil. Tape the edges of the paper with masking tape to keep a clean border.
Protect the whites: the snow will stay mostly white paper. Use a white crayon to draw a few sparkles on the snow (wax resist).
Sky first (light to dark): wet the sky area with clean water; drop in yellow near the horizon, then orange, then red-violet higher up, letting them blend (wet-on-wet, variegated wash).
Let it dry completely. Painting the trees on a wet sky would make them blur.
Snow shadows: a pale blue-violet graded wash across the foreground, lighter toward the bottom. The wax sparkles resist the paint.
Trees (wet-on-dry): mix a dark blue-green and paint the spruces with the tip of a round brush, so edges stay crisp against the sky.
Details: a few dry brush strokes for texture in the snow; remove the tape at the end for a crisp white border.

Order: drawing and resist, sky wet-on-wet, dry, snow graded wash, trees wet-on-dry, dry brush details. Working light to dark and letting layers dry keeps colours clean and edges crisp.

Two water jars

Use one jar to rinse dirty brushes and another for clean water to mix. Muddy watercolour often comes from muddy rinse water.

Just for fun

Why are watercolour painters so relaxed?

They have learned to go with the flow, and to let things dry before they decide.

Hands-on activity

Paint technique sampler

You need: watercolours (pan or tube), any opaque paint (tempera, gouache or acrylic), at least two brushes (a round and a flat), heavy paper or watercolour paper, masking tape, table salt, a white crayon or candle, paper towels, two water jars, a plate or plastic lid for a palette, an old toothbrush, newspaper.

Tape a sheet into a grid of 12 rectangles with masking tape.
Watercolour: fill 8 rectangles: flat wash, graded wash, variegated wash, wet-on-wet, wet-on-dry layering, dry brush, lifting, salt. Do a wax resist in a ninth.
Opaque: fill the last 3: light over dark layering, impasto (thick paint with a piece of card), and glazing (if using acrylic, a thin transparent layer over a dry colour).
Remove the tape for crisp white lines and label each technique.
Mini painting: use at least three of the techniques in a 10 cm × 15 cm painting of a Canadian landscape at any season.

Safety and clean-up: use paints labelled non-toxic (AP seal). Keep paint away from your mouth and eyes, and never lick a brush to make a point. Wipe extra paint on paper towels before rinsing; rinse brushes in a jar, not under a running tap, and put dried acrylic bits in the garbage, not down the drain. Wash brushes in mild soap and lukewarm water, reshape the bristles and dry them lying flat or bristles up. Wear old clothes: acrylic does not wash out once dry.

Your turn

What are the two main ingredients of any paint?

Why must you plan the whites in a watercolour painting?

Which technique makes soft, blurry edges: wet-on-wet or wet-on-dry?

What is a glaze and what happens if you glaze blue over dry yellow?

Which brush would you choose for crisp, straight edges of a building?

Name two ways to create texture in watercolour.

Give two rules for brush care.

More practice: warm-up

Is gouache transparent or opaque?

Which paint becomes permanent and water-resistant when dry?

What tool applies thick impasto paint?

In watercolour, do you usually work light to dark or dark to light?

What does salt do on a wet watercolour wash?

More practice: on your own

Chen painted dark spruce trees on a wet sky, and they turned into fuzzy blobs. What happened and how can he fix it next time?

Why might an artist choose acrylic instead of watercolour for a mural on a garage door?

Describe how an underpainting helps an acrylic painting.

Explain the difference between scumbling and glazing in acrylic.

A painting needs white highlights on a dark river. Which medium makes this easiest and why?

Challenge

Plan a painting of the northern lights over a frozen lake using one transparent and one opaque technique. Explain the order of steps and why.

Explain, using what you know about pigment and binder, why a thick layer of tempera might crack but acrylic does not.

A watercolour painting looks dull and muddy. List three possible causes and a fix for each.

Check your understanding

Quiz

Which paint is transparent?

What is the job of a binder in paint?

Painting on paper that is already wet gives...

A thin, transparent layer of paint over a dry layer is a...

Which brush is best for broad, even strokes and crisp edges?

What is the most responsible way to clean acrylic brushes?

For parents and teachers

Painting at home is messier but worth it. Cover the table, keep two water jars, and choose non-toxic paints (look for the AP seal). Common difficulties: overworking watercolour (which makes it muddy), painting the next layer before the first is dry, and letting acrylic dry in brushes (which ruins them). Encourage your teen to do technique samples on scrap paper before the final work; samples are part of the creative process and belong in the portfolio. For responsible clean-up, wipe brushes on paper towels first and avoid pouring lots of paint water down the drain.