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Colour and Painting Media
Quick questions on Watercolour techniques explained: O-Level Art
4short Q&A pairs drawn directly from our worked dot-point answer. For full context and worked exam questions, read the parent dot-point page.
What is the transparent nature of watercolour?Show answer
The defining property of watercolour is that it is transparent. Light passes through the paint and reflects off the white paper beneath, which is what gives watercolour its fresh, luminous glow. Crucially, there is no covering white paint, so the light areas of a painting come from the paper showing through thin washes or being left bare. This single fact drives every other technique: you cannot easily lay a light colour over a dark one, so the lights must be planned and protected from the start.
What is q1?Show answer
Why must watercolour be worked from light to dark? [2 marks]
What is q2?Show answer
Explain the difference between a flat wash and a graded wash. [2 marks]
What is q3?Show answer
What does it mean to reserve the white in a watercolour, and why is it necessary? [3 marks]
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