Guides11 min
Dry Brush Watercolor Technique: 8 Tips for Broken Texture
Dry brush watercolor technique means thick paint, a blotted brush and dry paper. Eight tips on paper, loading and brush angle, plus a 5-step practice drill.
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Technique Editor
Marcus Reed
Marcus Reed covers watercolor technique for painters at every level, from a first flat wash to glazing and lifting, with an emphasis on why a technique works and what to do when it goes wrong.
- Covers
- Wet-on-Wet, Glazing, Brush Technique, Beginner Foundations
- Articles
- 13, in 2 categories
- Latest
- November 8, 2026
Writing
Articles by Marcus Reed
Features14 min
12 Easy Watercolor Flower Ideas Sorted by Brush Stroke
Easy watercolor flower ideas, 12 flowers from four tubes, grouped by the one brush move each needs. Pigment codes, paper, time and three steps for each.
Guides11 min
Flat Wash Watercolor Technique: Flat and Graded in 5 Steps
Flat wash watercolor technique needs a tilted board, a big puddle and a bead you never let dry. Five steps for a flat wash, how to grade it, and the fixes.
Guides12 min
Glazing Watercolor Technique: 6 Steps to Layer Clean Color
Glazing watercolor technique means one thin transparent wash over another that has dried. Which pigments glaze cleanly, which turn to mud, and six steps.
Guides12 min
Masking Fluid Watercolor Guide: 7 Steps and 3 Products
Masking fluid watercolor painting works when the paper is dry, the latex comes off within a day and the brush is one you can spare. 7 steps, 3 products.
Features14 min
11 Christmas Watercolor Ideas to Paint With 5 Tubes
Christmas watercolor ideas for beginners, 11 festive scenes and objects from five tubes. Each lists its pigment codes, paper, time estimate and three steps.
Features13 min
10 Easy Winter Watercolor Ideas From a 4-Tube Palette
Easy winter watercolor ideas, 10 scenes painted from 4 tubes with no green or white paint. Each lists its colors, pigment codes, paper, time and steps.
Guides10 min
How to Paint Snow in Watercolor: 9 Tips for Clean Whites
How to paint snow in watercolor comes down to leaving the paper white and painting the shadows. 9 tips on masking, blue shadows, salt and opaque white.
Features11 min
Best Travel Watercolor Sets: 5 Pocket Boxes Compared
Best travel watercolor sets hold 12 half pans, but the colors inside differ a lot. Five pocket boxes compared by palette, extras, grade and size.
Features12 min
Best Watercolor Sketchbooks: 4 With 100% Cotton Paper
Best watercolor sketchbooks use 100% cotton paper, and four widely sold books clear that bar. Weight, sizing and binding compared, plus the ones to skip.
Guides10 min
Wet-on-Dry Watercolor Technique: Crisp Edges in 6 Steps
Wet-on-dry watercolor technique means wet paint on fully dry paper, which keeps edges crisp. How to tell the paper is dry, and 6 steps to clean layers.
Guides12 min
Watercolor Pans vs Tubes: What to Buy First, Priced per ml
Watercolor pans vs tubes is mainly a format choice, and the paint is often the same. Price per ml, when each format wins, and how to fill pans from tubes.