How to Fix Watercolour Mistakes - Art Supplies Australia

If you are an aspiring watercolour artist just starting, you may have made a mistake that doesn't look too great on your painting. It's okay. We all make mistakes sometimes. Some of the most common mistakes are over-wetting the paper, not wetting the writing enough, letting colours bleed together and not blending colours well enough before painting with them. Don't worry! Here are some tips to fix those mistakes!

 

watercolor paint

Simple Ways to Fix Watercolour Problems

Fixing watercolour mistakes does not have to be pesky. There are actually some simple ways to fix watercolour mistakes.

In this article, we will talk about how to fix some of these paint errors so that even if your artwork isn't perfect, it can still be saved by following some simple steps for setting watercolour paintings.

Fixing Over-Wetting the Paper

If you over wet your paper, the colours will bleed together too much, and it can be difficult to control which colour is where. One way to fix this is to take a clean brush with just water on it, place it where you want one of the colours separated from another colour or background colour and then gently press down on the paper with it.

The colours will most likely stay together, but if not, continue to wet the area until you can paint in some of your background colours without mixing too much with the colour mixed in with an over-wet surface.

Fixing Not Wetting Paper Enough

If you don't wet your paper enough, you will have to be careful not to let the colours bleed together when being painted in. If you have a bigger brush and excess water on it already, just go over your colour lightly until it gets lighter looking because of the water from your meeting.

If you don't want to use a bigger brush, take your little water container, add a little bit of water to the colour, and then paint it in. If you didn't use too much water on your brush or add enough water with your little container, there should be no bleeding at all.

Fixing Colors Bleeding Together

If colours bleed together easily when painted in, try lightly pressing down on them with a clean wet brush. If you don't have a clean damp brush, take your water container, add just a little bit of water to the colour, and then paint it in. This should help control how much of that one colour shows up and hopefully stop it from bleeding into all surrounding colours.

Fixing Blending Colours

If you don't blend your colours well enough before painting in, that colour will be pretty dull and not blend into the background or surrounding colours very quickly since it has not been mixed with them. To fix this, take a clean brush with just water on it, place where you want the colour to be blended with another colour or background, and gently press down there.

It should blend a little bit more as you paint it in. If it does not agree still enough, take your water container and add just a little bit of water to the colour you want to blend with and then continue painting that area until the colours blend a little better.

 

a girl mixing watercolor

 

Fixing a Mistake on Your Painting

If you messed up your painting, don't worry! All is not lost, and there are ways to fix mistakes on the spot and after it has dried! If you realized that you made a mistake too late and the paint has already dried, then go over certain areas with just water on a dry paintbrush, and it will blend into the surrounding dried colours.

If you want to fix something still wet, try using water on a clean brush or your little container filled with water and lightly paint over an area until the mistake blends away. There are many different ways to fix errors; we've only gone over a few tracks here.

Keep practising, and you'll get the hang of it!

Art and watercolour painting is an art form that can be significantly enjoyed if you're interested in trying out something new and even passionate about it. However, it's also possible to make mistakes while painting with watercolours that may not please you as much.

FixWatercolour mistakes

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