Herron Class 6: Using Stained Paper

The process begins with staining your paper with an even coat of staining color.

Some Staining Watercolors are: Phtalo Green, Phtalo Blue, Phtalo Purple, Winsor Blue (it's the same as Phtalo Blue) and Alizarin Crimson. You can mix several colors if you want more of a tan or neutral color.

Wait at least a day for your stained paper to dry. Now, paint the mid-tones of your design onto the paper with watercolors. Next, paint the highlights with Chinese White*, which is white watercolor. Finally, paint on the darkest darks.

Note: *Chinese White is opaque. You may have to build up layers of Chinese White to get a bright white. It can also be tinted with regular watercolors to create opaque colors such as peach and light pink.

Green Trees by Jess Sanaie (c) 2010, 13x17in - For my painting, I stained my paper with Phtalo Green and diagonal brush strokes.