Watercolor Techniques

This page illustrates four of the most common watercolor techniques—blotting, scraping, wet-on-wet, and dry brush.

	Long Ships' Lighthouse, J. M. W. Turner, about 1834–1835
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Blotting and Scraping
Blotting involves removing wet pigment with a sponge or a slightly damp brush. In this painting, artist J.M.W. Turner used blotting to create the flickering illumination from a distant lighthouse at the middle left.

Scraping is using a knife to scrape away dried pigment and expose the paper below. Turner created the bright white highlights on the waves using this technique.

	Indians Making Canoes, Winslow Homer, 1895 The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens; Gift of the Virginia Steele Scott Foundation

Wet on Wet
The wet-on-wet technique involves wetting the paper before applying color with the brush. The pigment pools on the surface, produces a flowing, watery effect.

Winslow Homer used the wet-on-wet technique to create the lush green of the grass at the center of this painting.

	The Death of Lara, Eugène Delacroix, about 1824
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Dry Brush
Dry brush is the application of pigment with the smallest possible amount of water. This creates a broken, rough effect.

Eugène Delacroix used dry brush to create the rustic look in the foreground and on the trees in this painting.