Where Watercolor Pencil Meets the Flow

There is something almost contradictory about a watercolor pencil. It starts as a drawn mark that’s deliberate and controlled. And then you add water and the whole conversation changes.

That tension is what makes it so interesting to play with. You decide where the line goes. And then you let the water decide what happens next.

In the video above I'm exploring what watercolor pencil can do when you stop trying to make it behave. Working into a really wet area with the pencil gives you this gorgeous heavy saturation. It’s dense and rich in a way a brush alone can't quite touch. And then right next to it, a dry mark stays scratchy and textural, holding its ground while the wash moves around it.

Fluid and fixed. Loose and deliberate. Both on the same piece of paper. Making decisions and the one surrendering to the process. Which, honestly, sounds a lot like being a person.

Try it with something abstract. Let the pencil marks be their own thing first. Then bring the water in and see what wants to dissolve and what wants to stay.

You might be surprised what holds on.

>>> Watercolor Club meets every Friday from 3-4pm at WestArt. <<<