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Watercolor is very different from other mediums for one thing it is transparent.
The white of the paper give it a special brilliance. You can never add a light color over a dark color. But working light to dark and with washes is what makes watercolor so beautiful. You will build your painting by laying down layers of color until the last intense color is the darkest tone. In watercolor, approach to the subject matter is very important, always remember the only white of your painting is in the white of the paper and once you have painted over the white, it is gone.
Wash paint is diluted with a lot of water, allowed to dry then the same color can be reapplied for the layer technique or if you want to could apply another wash of a different color. This is always done on a flat surface so the water does not puddle or run. Adding more color, and increasing the ratio of paint to water can also build up tones.
You can make the wash graduate down the page and become lighter. Mix the solution of color you like and load the brush with its full strength and lay a band of color onto the paper across the top lay several more strokes of the same full color as you would the flat wash technique. Dip the brush into water only and lay a band of color picking up the wet front, continue down the paper and this will give you a gradual color change, allow it to dry.
Laying a wash onto a wet area, dampen the paper with either a sponge or a brush. Start with full strength color the same way as above, loading the brush and picking up the wet edge of the wash, this will take the color down into the damp area and the paint will meet the wet paper and become a lighter tone. The end result is much the same as the first method.
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