The concepts of positive space and negative space exist in your watercolor paintings whether you're aware of them or not.

But you may not be using them to your advantage. They may not be living up to their potential. 

Keep reading to learn what negative painting is, how to best use it in your paintings, and what negative painting techniques could help you take your watercolors to the next level. 

All You Need to Know About Negative Painting in Watercolor

Negative painting is a tool you want in your toolbox when you're working to portray light and render dynamic shapes in your watercolor scenes.

In this blog, I am going to:

• Define positive and negative space
• Explain the special relationship watercolorists have with negative space
• Discuss the effect negative painting has on composition
• Outline helpful watercolor techniques for painting negatively 

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Positive Space vs. Negative Space

So let's start with the most basic question related to negative painting - what is negative and positive space? 

Negative painting refers to the act of applying paint outside or around a shape to define a subject or create the area of focus. 

Positive painting, on the other hand, is painting the actual shape directly. 

The Special Relationship Watercolor Artists Have With Negative Painting

One thing that distinguishes watercolor from other mediums is that, often, what we don't paint becomes the focal point, the most eye catching element. 

You hear the term negative painting a lot in watercolor because of the many different washes (also called glazes) that layer on top of each other to create shapes - both positive and negative. Preserving whites and lighter values as we go often involves painting darker-valued negative space. As we do this, our positive space is further defined. 

Take these progress pictures for this sky (below). Notice how the added value in the sky (the blue) is what creates the shape of the clouds (white). I painted this negatively. 

The Connection Between Composition and Negative Painting

Negative painting can be accurately described as a compositional device since positive and negative space are foundational elements of composition. 

Composition: the arrangement and organization of visual elements in an image that create the overall impression of the scene 

One goal as an artist is to create balance between positive and negative space. This can be achieved in many ways, and will look different depending on your watercolor subject, but in watercolor painting, you can tweak this balance throughout your process using negative painting.

Again, think about my clouds (above). Notice how I added blue to the sky (negative painting), I improved the balanced of the clouds. In the end, the composition benefitted.

What Negative Painting Techniques Should I Use?

Are you ready for the good news?

You probably already know some of the techniques used to paint negatively. Traditional watercolor painting, in many ways, depends on them.

Still, let's go over some of the top watercolor techniques to use with negative painting. 

Train Your Eye to See in Shapes

I talk about this all the time: seeing your watercolor subjects as shapes rather than familiar objects can transform the way you paint. When you abandon your preconceived notion of the subject (car, house, figure, etc.) and think more in terms of its shape - and in relation to the other elements in your painting - the realism of your scene improves. 

Training your eyes to see in shapes also boosts your ability to identify and recreate shapes made when two or more objects are placed together in a composition. 

Preserve Lights and Whites

It's a pretty common watercolor technique to preserve the whites of paper, so it's likely you've already encountered this or tried your hand at it. If you've watched me paint a watercolor scene at any point in time, you are definitely familiar with the watercolor method. 

Here are some pictures that depict how I preserve light values and whites in watercolor paintings:

First Wash

Below is the first wash of this landscape painting. Notice that in this first wash there are examples of negative painting - shapes I created these by painting around them (like the house or van). 

In order to preserve the whites of the page as well as I did, I avoided these areas when I wet down the front of my paper. This way the paint didn't spread into those shapes I wanted to keep white. (Note - Before I wet most of the front, I first wet down the entire backside of my paper).

Second Wash

Notice the positive and negative shapes I created in this second wash.

Adding the tree line behind the house on the hill allowed me to define the shape of the house. This, as well as preserving the light value of the pole, is an example of negative painting. 

Third Wash

Preserving lights throughout the watercolor painting process is an incredibly useful negative painting technique for watercolor artists. The final result, after adding all the positive shapes, darks, and details, demonstrates its power. 

For more explanation on how to create a landscape like this one, watch this free watercolor tutorial.  

Strategically Implement the Wet-into-Wet Method

When I paint in watercolor, I use the wet-into-wet method, which means I wet down my paper and allow pigments to mix throughout the process. This gives watercolor scenes nice, fluid, soft edges and allows pigments to mix nicely on the paper. 

I wet down both sides of my paper; however, when there is a part of my watercolor scene where I want to preserve the stark white of the paper, I do not wet the front of the paper in this area. This way, when I apply paint onto the paper, the pigment flows only onto the wet area and protects that dry area from absorbing any paint.

Related Blogs 

What is Negative Painting and Why is it a Crucial Skill in Watercolor Painting?

Watercolor Mastery: Techniques to Preserve Luminosity

How to Create a Large Connected Shape: A Watercolor Tutorial