Bleeding (or fading) your watercolor wash

by Wendy S
(San Jose, Calif.)

When you want to soften (bleed or fade) an edge, plan ahead.


1) Have one brush for your paint and another soft brush for plain water. This will save you from wasting paint by rinsing it out of your brush constantly, and it will allow you to soften your work before a hard line appears.

2) After you lay down a swatch of color, use your clean, damp brush to "whisper" past the edge of the color, just barely touching it. Many people are tempted to actually move into the paint they just laid down, this will only serve to lift some of that paint and disrupt the nice wash with a streak. So think "whisper past". I recommend practicing on scrap paper as it takes a while to perfect.