Clean water
soft brushes
heavy paper
Cool vs Warm
Pthalo vs Ultramarine
Primaries, secondaries, tertiaries, complements
and a huge variety of grays.
A brush charged with water can lift a clean line or destroy a wash
A spray of rubbing alcohol doesn’t make a dent on a dry wash, but drip it onto wet paint and you have fantastic, blobby bullseyes.
A sprinkling of salt makes “stars” on a damp night sky.
Crumpled plastic wrap makes blocks and angles
Your smooth, even wash depends on keeping a wet ‘bead’ moving along under your brush.
Glazing color over color makes every possible combo, yet all you really need to make a whole spectrum are
Red Yellow Blue
Then layer red over blue, over yellow to create simple “shadow paintings”
Or use a “negative” painting technique that layers from light to dark to create a deep, mysterious painting.
make a simple design and float watercolors onto wet paper. 
Paint around the positive shapes , adding more and more and darkening your washes each time. 
keep adding more layers by drawing details into the negative spaces.
Or use a resist medium to create a design, then pour the paint on top .
draw with waterproof resist medium on clean paper. 
pour a mix of red, yellow and blue watercolor over the resist drawing. 
rub off the resist medium with a fingertip. 
this simple owl is just a resist medium drawing with a single pour of watercolors.
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Ashley Wolff 