Have you ever wondered how experienced artists could paint a landscape of a forest or a garden with so many details? Do you know how some paintings have more depth than others? I used to have those questions until I learned about the negative painting technique. This powerful technique has brought my painting skills to the next level.
So what is the watercolor negative painting technique? How can we apply that in our painting? What are the Dos and Don’ts when using the negative painting technique? We will find the answers to those questions in a few minutes.
Negative painting in watercolor is when you paint the space around an object (negative space), to create the object’s shape. The negative painting technique can add more depth to an artwork and has been used in many types of painting such as landscapes, still-lifes, and portraits.
Since we were kids, we were taught to paint an object and paint inside the sketch lines. That’s probably why we usually pay more attention to the objects that we sketch than the space around them. The negative painting requires us to switch our perspective to focus on that space instead of the objects.
When Should I Use the Negative Painting Technique in Watercolor?
Artists use the negative painting technique more often than you might think. It can be used for the whole painting or some parts of the painting. Below are some examples of when you should use the negative watercolor painting.
Landscape Painting
It’s easy to get lost when sketching and painting when there are too many details such as layers of branches and leaves in a landscape, some of them are closer while others are further away. Negative painting can help you separate the layers of details and save you time because you don’t need to sketch every single detail.
Portrait Painting
In portrait painting, negative painting can be helpful when you paint different layers of hair. In the painting I created below, I painted the gap between different hairs with darker colors instead of painting every single hair.
When there is a strong light source shining on the model, the highlights of the model sometimes look like they are white. To increase the contrast between the highlights and the shadows, you can paint the space around the highlights with darker-toned colors.
Still-life Painting
You can use native painting to create more depth to a still-life artwork. For example, when painting a bunch of flowers, leaves, or pebbles, painting the deeper layer with a darker color helps you define the shapes of the objects and create more dimensions for your artwork.
How to do Negative Watercolor Painting Step by Step
The negative watercolor painting technique requires patience and time because you will need to wait for the previous layer to dry completely before adding more layers. I will walk you through the steps to create a simple but beautiful painting with the negative painting technique.
Let’s get some watercolor supplies and practice this together!
Step 1: Create a Quick Sketch
Create a simple pencil sketch of leaves for the top layer. Those leaves stay on top of the others and receive the most amount of sunlight.
Step 2: Paint the First Layer Wet on Wet
Firstly, moisten the paper with clean water and avoid adding too much or too little water (read more about common mistakes in watercolor). Then, add different colors to the wet paper, and don’t worry about the sketch at this step. The first layer should have light colors because the leaves receive a lot of sunlight.
Step 3: Paint the Negative Space
Wait for the first layer to dry completely before you paint the second layer. You can use a hairdryer to dry the first layer but be aware that hot-drying your painting will prevent the pigments from blending naturally and may leave some marks.
On your color palette, mix the colors that have a similar hue to the colors used for the first layer but with a lower value. In other words, the new colors should relate to the previous colors but look darker. For example, if you use light green and yellow for the first layer, the second layer should have darker green and yellow colors.
Paint the negative space around the leaves that you already sketched in step 1. You can create gradient washes or variegated washes in this step. The colors painted in this step will become the colors of the leaves on the second layer.
Step 4: Repeat Painting Negatively
Wait for the watercolor paper to dry completely before you apply the next layer. You can use a pencil to sketch the leaves for the next layer before painting the negative space.
Now, paint the negative space around the leaves on the second and the first layers with darker colors. Be careful when you paint the gaps between the leaves. You can use a round brush with a small size for better precise brush strokes.
Repeat the process for the next layers. You can have three to four layers of leaves as you want. More layers will create more depth for the painting. The key is to wait for each layer to dry completely before you add the next one, and the colors need to be darker each time.
And now you have a beautiful watercolor painting of leaves to decorate your room, using the watercolor negative painting technique.
10 Negative Watercolor Painting Ideas for Beginners
Practice makes perfect. That is why I encourage you to continue practicing the negative watercolor painting technique until you master it. You can also increase the complexity of the objects in your painting to make it more challenging.
Below are 10 negative painting ideas for your inspiration:
- Leaves
- Daisy Flowers
- Tree Trunks
- Fishes
- Pebbles
- Butterflies
- A flower garden
- A forest
- Feathers
- Mushrooms
Conclusion
It is fun to try the negative painting technique, isn’t it? I hope that by now you already know more about the keys to the watercolor technique. Painting negative space is very useful when you paint more complex topics such as a landscape, hair, or still life, so make sure you have time to practice it as much as you can.
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