My first introduction to this method was through a Kris Parins demo, a watercolorist whose background was in graphic design. I feel her paintings seem effortless and not as contrived, but a masterful hand and designer has planned her paintings well. It is easy to see that she understands the 4 color process used by printers to establish their desired outcomes. Here is one of Kris' amazing paintings, "Captive Audience":
After attempting this method several times, I finally realized a little study into the process never hurts. I am understanding colors better as I had to select my favorite blends from a large array of yellows, reds and blues. You should do the same. My excellent guide ( aside from You Tube videos) has been Jean Grastorf " Pouring Light" ( thank you, Nancy Charbeneau, who is also an excellent pourer)...who explains this is also an exercise in value so fast forward to my teaching this to interested beginners in January ( 24th) at my favorite Marble Falls gallery, Galleries at Pecan Creek. This will be a beginner class in every way; you do not need prior experience to participate.
Here is my teaser set of photos :
Basically, I planned a river scene since part of the charm of Marble Falls, Texas is that it sits on the beautiful Colorado River. My sketch was masked ( I used Pebeo masking fluid on 300# paper). Once the paper was completely drenched in water, I applied a yellow ( I used quinacridone gold), overlapping a red ( Cadmium) and a blue ( Cobalt) so that these pigments create their own depth of color as they dry. DRYING is a key component to success. Each "pour" adds it's own new dimension to the rich hues that are developed. Each pour also has a richer percentage of pigment to water to enhance the darks and mid tones.
I hope I caught your attention and interest! This is the class list. Please sign up on the gallery website ( class limited to 8):
https://www.galleriesatpecancreek.com/
I will add to my knowledge base of this technique by taking a late February work shop from Lian Quan Zeng. Contact me for more information on this Waterloo Watercolor Group work shop in Austin. Waiting list only at this point.