All You Need to Know About Layers in Painting Watercolor

It can be tempting when you begin a watercolor painting to immediately want the scene to have dimension, depth, and believability. But these things come with time. They come together throughout your watercolor painting process.

Here, I’m going to share with you what the focus of each watercolor step should be in order to paint believable and dynamic watercolors. Keep reading to learn my main goal for each watercolor layer, and watch the attached video to see how each step contributes to the final product.

A Primer on Watercolor Layers 

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Mantras for Each Step of the Watercolor Process

The focus of each watercolor layer is simple to remember, but more difficult to pull off. That’s why it’s helpful to have a simple watercolor process to refer back to as you build your watercolor skills. 

Here is a mantra for each wash that will help you stay tuned into the goal of each wash.

First Wash - “Light and Loose”

Your main focus with the first wash - or layer - of the watercolor process is to lay down the lightest values. There might also be some areas where you want to preserve the white of the paper. In the first wash - and in all subsequent washes - you’ll cut around these spots. But, other than those areas of white, you’ll cover your entire sheet of watercolor paper with the lightest values of the scene.

Remember - this is your chance to include these hues that will contrast with your darks and details. Once you apply darker values, it’s difficult to go back and brighten things up; this is your opportunity to include your light values in a scene.

But just because this wash is about light values doesn’t mean the consistency of your paint should be super thin. You don’t want this wash to be too muted as it dries, so paint in hues that are slightly bolder than what you want in the end. 

So that covers the light part of your mantra, but what about the loose?

One of watercolor’s best qualities is its tendency for colors to mix and blend. Take advantage of this in your first wash and embrace the looseness of this first layer.

Second Wash - “Connection”

Perhaps the second wash is the most difficult for artists to understand conceptually. As you start this second layer, the word you should have at the top of your mind is “connection."

I start this wash on the left side and go all the way across to the right, finding connections all along the way. As I go, I am using different colors, of course, but all are middle value hues, and I think of it as one large shape.

Working my way across the scene, I am identifying the “shadow side” of objects and figures, and adding them in. A good place to see this in this painting is in my figures. 

Notice how I added darker hues of the same colors I used in the first wash to give them depth and dimension. Notice also how these darker hues connect to the overall wash. 

When I added those middle values to my figures, I lost some of the edge and shape that they had before. It can be easy to feel frustrated by this, but remember that it is more important to the overall scene that you connect the middle value colors. You can always define your subjects better in the third wash. 

Don’t get distracted by perfection so much that you lose sight of the main goal of the second wash: connection.  

Third Wash - “Darks and Details”

This wash is different from the other two because you are creating separation and distinction between objects, subjects, and spaces with the darks and details of the scene.

Here is where you add the darkest values in your watercolor and watch the contrast jump off the page. It’s truly remarkable how the painting comes together when you’ve added this full range of values.

One way the third wash is similar to the second wash is that you’re going to want to find as much connection in the dark wash as you can. See how the dark of the added tree connects with the shadow of the fence? These kinds of connections help to bring unity and to ground objects in the scene.

The details (like the windows on the house or the lines in the street), however, will not necessarily connect. Instead, they bring distinction and separation. These sorts of details capture and guide the viewer’s eye.

Reminders For Each Watercolor Layer

Hopefully these quick little phrases applied to each wash of the painting process can help give you the direction you need as you take on the scenes that catch your eye. 

During the first wash, remember - light and loose. As you paint the second wash, just one word should repeat in your head - connection. And, finally, as you paint the final wash, your focus should be on the darks and details.

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