Watercolor Style Week 2

Color and Emotion in Watercolor

This week, we dove into the idea of using color to reflect memory and emotion—turning personal experiences into expressive, meaningful paintings. Here’s what we practiced and how you can try it at home:

1. Layering (Glazing)

• Start with a light, transparent wash of color and let it dry completely.

• Once dry, add another transparent layer on top, slightly changing the hue or value.

• Repeat as needed, allowing each layer to shine through the next.

• This slow build creates depth, luminosity, and a sense of atmosphere.

2. Monochrome & Limited Palettes

• Monochrome: Choose one color (for example, ultramarine blue) and create different values by adding more or less water.

• Limited palette: Choose only three colors—ideally ones that mix well together—and commit to using only those for the entire painting.

• This restriction forces harmony and gives your work a strong, unified mood.

3. Intuitive Color Mixing

• Skip the photo reference and think about a place or moment you remember vividly.

• Ask yourself: What colors feel like this memory?

• On your palette, mix colors in response to those feelings—don’t overthink the “real” color.

• Test your mixes on scrap paper to see how they interact before applying them to your painting.

Practice Prompt

• Think of a place connected to a personal memory.

• Mix a palette that reflects its emotional tone—warm and joyful, cool and calm, muted and nostalgic, etc.

• Paint an abstract piece or focus on just a few details from that place, letting color tell the story.

At-home assignment: Create a small color study or “emotional snapshot” of your chosen place. Next week, bring your palette and painting to share—tell us how your colors connect to your memories.