Properties of Watercolor Paint

Watercolor paints are made from either natural pigments found in the earth; clay, minerals, etc., or from synthetic pigments, which have been finely ground down and then held together with a water-soluble based "gum" binder. These are sold as either pans of dry color or in tubes.

Transparent watercolors allows the light to pass through the pigment to the paper and hit the substrate, reflecting back the white of the paper.

NOTE: The whites seen in traditional transparent watercolor renderings are actually the white of the paper. Although often included in student sets of watercolor, you will NOT need white paint in this course.

Opaque colors block the light from coming through to the paper. Instead, the light bounces off the pigment. Opaque watercolor is called gouache. We will NOT be using gouache in this course - be aware that these tubes look similar.

Non-Staining watercolors will not penetrate the paper’s surface. It will instead settle on the surface of the paper after the water has evaporated. These colors, once dried, allow you to lift the pigment off the surface to reveal the white of the paper underneath. These colors mix extremely well with other non-staining colors.

Staining watercolors will absorb into the first few layers of paper before the water has had a chance to evaporate. These colors, once dried, are difficult to lift to get back to the white of the paper and will leave a stained tint of the color. Staining colors mix extremely well with other staining colors, but when mixed with non-staining colors they have a tendency to dominate the overall color of the mix.

Fugitive pigment will fade over time. Alternately, non-fugitive pigment will not fade under normal storage conditions. (NOTE: Direct sunlight will always accelerate this process.) Paint manufacturers often place a I-V Roman numeral lightfast reading on the side of the tube with I as "Excellent" and V being "Fugitive."