Art & Music

#58 · Swirl a watercolour wash

Drag a chopstick through wet watercolour on paper to blend colours, create feathered edges, or add unexpected texture.

A wet-in-wet wash can be nudged into feathered patterns while it is still damp, and a chopstick tip is fine enough to move pigment without lifting it or bruising the paper surface.

How to do it

1. Lay your wash and wait until the shine has gone but the paper is still damp.
2. Tilt the board slightly to start the pigment moving.
3. Trail the chopstick tip through in loops, barely touching.
4. Lay it flat to dry once you are happy - tilting a drying wash gives you a hard edge where the water pools.

Why it works

Watercolour keeps moving as long as there is free water, and pigment travels to wherever the water is going. Dragging a slightly absorbent tip through changes where the water sits, and the pattern locks in as the paper dries. Push it once the shine has gone and you are scrubbing the surface instead, which is what causes the dull patches.

Tips & warnings

• Use 200gsm paper or heavier, or stretch it first, or it will cockle.
• Drop salt in first and swirl around the crystals for a mottled texture.
• Wipe the tip on kitchen roll between passes so you're not carrying colour around.