Watercolor teachers rarely discuss how wet the brush itself should be, and instead focus only on the characteristics of the puddle of paint. It was years before I realized the importance of the wetness of the brush and that you can (must!) use a rag to adjust this as you go. It’s wonderful that you are showing how this is done.

Very enjoyable. I'm new at painting and trying to learn as much as possible from the pros. I start every day by watching or reviewing videos and practicing the basics. Some people find that boring, like practicing scales on an instrument. But you don't become a rock star by skipping the basics. All of it is fun to me. Thank you for doing this.

Thank you. Techniques artists use intuitively are difficult to teach.

Your original blending videos are so valuable Steve. No one really drills down to the basics like you do. I'm looking forward to practising these new techniques too.

Yeah wisdom from Steve , hooray 😃!

Thank you, as always.

The reasons you explain clearly it's illustrator and designer professionalism but the reasons we understand your explanation is your fine art passion. Thank's a lot. I've learned a lot.

Thank you for this content

Loved the tree. Simple but not easy to get it right!

Thank you so much for this video Steve. :o)

Thank you…great lesson

Thank You

Great video- thanks, Steve!

Thanks

Another great learning video. Cross hatching, the fur look. How you use dry brush is great too! I use a thirsty washcloth like your car sponge, but yes! The rag is great! I can probably use the washcloth both ways! Loved this!

Thank you! I've never heard or seen these techniques... as a beginner it seems a bit over my head, as I'm doing very elementary objects... flowers, skies, oceans, playing with color !!! HA!!! I see you show a Kristy Rice book... wow - such energy, fun and playful! I appreciate your gift of humor and peaceful place to learn a bit more about watercolor! I thank God for you 🙏❤ a California Gramma

I naturally started using the flat wash glazing technique just yesterday while I was painting a seascape! It worked very well to create a watery transparent effect. I’ll definitely use it again :)

Thank you! Your videos are always so helpful!!

Ty, for explaining texture so brilliantly, it is mentioned often, yet I had no idea what it was in W/C or how it was created. Same as what dry brush is. Will be coming back and watching again with my supplies. What I really, really loved is you actually showed drying with the heat gun (I assume) I wish this part of the process was shown more often even for half a second when teachers do a painting. It really helps the learning process for us visual learners.

It’s always fun & a joy to watch your videos each week. I have been thinking 🤔 about using a cloth rag lately for that very reason you said, because paper towel/kitchen paper is definitely not working well for squeezing out the water. Ha, you’ve captured me lately with the train driving, 😁. I am finding that I really prefer dry brush techniques more than the wet-on-wet techniques. Cross-hatching I have been doing that, 😀Cool I’m doing something right texturally!! As Bob Ross says, “ a Happy 😊 Accident!” Thanks for sharing this informative video with your wonderful humor. It’s really boosted my mood today!

Thank you very much Steve.. I needed to see this .

Great teaching! I will be working on those shading, something so simple yet can’t master it!!! I’m definitely be working on my path this week!

Very useful, thank you.

Very helpful thank you 👍

Great lesson…thank you!

Thanks for a great tutorial!

love your videos.

The cloth matters. When I started out I used paper towels as I had for decades with acrylic. Then switched to those heavy felted paper towels. When I finally got some cotton cloths everything became easier. It just absorbs differently. I keep some washcloths just for my watercolor 100% cotton. When they get messy just toss them in the washer.. no dryer sheet.

Thank you for this lesson. I learned a lot! :)

wow, thanks for this very informative and educational video ;)

I find some of these techniques, the hatching and dry brush, work well on cheeper pulp based watercolor paper, where you cannot rely on the cotton fiber to give you smooth blends. These effects keep the paint on the surface of the paper rather than seeping deeper in.

Thanks for getting back to watercolor fundamentals. Your forrays into watercolor-related mediums are interesting but i do like the stuff you cover on mastering the basic medium of watercolor best. I like it when you stick to the knitting, because there is always so much to learn just within this one challenging medium.

Very helpful. Working on a piece now. Hard to envision the end result through layering, but I'm learning to be patient and to respect & control the water and keep working through it.

Thanks for the reminder to practice practice practice! Always important. Hey I was wondering if you ever had a chance to test that cloverleaf pallet you got a few years ago. It looks great, conceptually.

Someone recommended a shop towel. Is that any better than a paper towel? It's reusable.

Hi Steve, love your videos…been watching for years…I do a lot of dry brushing in my work. I just like the way it looks. What is the best brush you can recommend for dry brushing? I’m still looking for one that doesn’t immediately “hook” on the point, or start getting “fuzzy”. I really value your advice and recommendations.Thanks in advance!!

I would assume the dry brush would be tough to do without the good paper, and I always thought dry brush just meant going over dry paper, was news to me the brush also had to be pretty dry

Thank you -- clever techniques! Say, can a person use a dry brush to blend an overlay wash without disturbing the original later underneath?

Hi. Im wondering if anyone knows where to get that trekell brush he was using in this video? 🤔 thanks

Are you in ukraine ? I hope all is ok for you 🙏🙋‍♀️ Im happy to see you again in youtuve, watercolor

Hey Steve, I’m wondering if you’re using hot press paper here? The cold press seems to make it very difficult for me to add texture detail. Definitely wondering if you do this on both papers?

I know this video is a bit old now to be commenting on, but I have been eyeing the watercolor set you mentioned and am a bit on the fence, in part because I’m irritated that Daniel Smith isn’t making your previous set anymore, and I’m sad to be missing some of the more specialized colors. Does M. Graham (I have always heard very good things but am not personally familiar) not make similar things, or if they do, is there s reason you chose to leave them out? I quite like all the pigments in the new set, but I can’t seem to get the iridescents and gemstones out of my head, or the endearingly named “Rose of Ultramarine,” even though it’s the one color listed I have never heard of. It also feels like Azo Green can’t be what the Apatite would have, or the yellow quite like the Hansa (although I’m not sure why I feel as strongly about the latter), even before Moonglow and gold. (Amd I don’t know enough to comment on the neutral tint, but it seems a shame to lose the raw umber as well.) All of this - the length of which I apologize for - is to say… While the tubes seem generous, the colors lovely, brand intriguing… is it just my mind playing tricks on me that is making me feel like I’m missing out? I’d be nervous to get small set of half pans of the other colors to try to use concurrently with the tubes, even if I could afford it (I haven’t looked, but the main set is already a stretch for me right now), but I’m worried I will hem and haw and end up with nothing if I don’t mange to sort it out in my mind. Any thoughts? And, if you are willing to indulge me just one step further, would this playlist work as a beginner’s course of sorts if I did get the set? I’m really impressed with your teaching, having taught in the arts myself (different artform) and taken many classes, but so far, watercolor has been the thing that I am just laughably bad at every time I’ve tried. My mother was an amazing artist and left me an incredible watercolor collection (almost entirely Daniel Smith tubes), but after trying to use some once and doing so poorly I felt I had wasted them, I promised myself I would use other paints to learn till I could be relatively sure I would not do so again. I just hope I am not beyond instruction. So if you have other videos you’d suggest that I start with, I’d appreciate a pointer very much. Thanks so much, and sorry to go on so long - I really just want to do things right this time. P.S. to other people who follow closely here - if there is somewhere else better for me to be attempting to reach out, could you please let me know? I discovered this very recently and just dove in, so I’m not really in the know about, well, anything yet. Thank you!

Is there a risk of using that old oil brush scratching or damaging the watercolor paper? I would probably accidentally use it as a scrubber if I'm not mindful the whole time lol.