What are the general rules for watercolor painting?

Question

I found good "general rules" lists for OIL painting (below). Is there an equivalent list of rules for watercolor?

1. Paint from warm to cool

2. Paint from thin to thick

3. Paint from lean to fat

4. Paint from dark to light

5. Paint from loose to tight

6. Paint from big to small

7. Use the largest brushes possible

8. Avoid using white as long as possible

8.5Make as many midtones as possible

9. Paint light not objects for as long as possible

10. Use as few colors as possible

11. Daylight scenes have one color of light and one opposite color in all the shadows

12. After a certain pointremoving paint can be more effective than adding it.

13. Cover the surface evenly; don't let a problem areadistract you.

14. If the composition doesn't work in monochrome, the addition of color won't help it.

Answer 1

1. Know what you want to paint beforehand and PREPARE. Fixing a watercolor mistake is a pain! You can try scrubbing, but you only have so much paper to scrub through.

2. Paint from light to dark.

3. To make darker colors, use "red"+"green" or "red"+"blue" depending on coolness/warmth.

Sorry, I couldn't think of that many rules. ) : I haven't had that class in a while. I hope this helps though!  

Answer 2

Another trick is to use rubber cement to keep colors from bleeding together and make solid lines. put it where you'd like it to stay white then rub it off once your paint is dry. I also use a hair dryer to speed up the drying process between colors. don't turn it on to high or it blows the color across your page.  

Answer 3

I'm not sure there are rules as such. One certainly would be to paint light to dark. Another would be to avoid going over strokes once laid down. Watercolors can be overworked so easily. The final finished piece should look fresh with absolute sure paint application executed with a confident firm hand.

An important factor in watercolor painting is knowing the different painting techniques to impart textures, gradations, and edges. Knowing the characteristics of each specific pigment and what colors can mix on the paper and those which don't are important. Understanding how to use your brushes and how the paper works is important as well.