Strengthen Your First Wash For A Strong Foundation

Jul 07, 2025

One mistake that I notice a lot in student work is that they don't go dark enough in this first layer.

Of course, the first wash is for the lightest and brightest values of your painting, but you don't want it to be so light that the gap between the first and second wash values is noticeable. You want your three layers to be a gradual building up of values, and you want those white or very light areas to stand out in the painting.

Let's Put A Spotlight On Your First Watercolor Wash

The first wash can make or break your painting, so let's talk about what's important to do (and not to do) during this phase.

Things to do during your first wash:

Wet down the whole paper (front and back).
Lay pigment across the entire scene (except for areas where you want to preserve the white).
Paint wet into wet and allow pigments to mix together.
Paint your lightest values.
Create soft edges.

Things not do during your first wash:

Paint too lightly; while you want your first wash to be your lightest values, don't be too timid.
Worry about creating a discernible subject; it's going to look muted and blurred - that's okay!
Apply a whole spectrum of values.