To see more of Greene’s work, go to www. artistsnetwork.com/article/gary-greene.

Just add water

All colors in this demonstration are Faber-Castell Albrecht Durer.

Color the leaf with gold ochre.

Layer scarlet lake and emerald green

Apply water with a nearly dry watercolor brush.

Dab on water with a nearly dry watercolor brush.

www.artistsmagazine.com ■ November 2008

Water-soluble colored pencil offers an additional array of opportunities. In fact, anything that can be done with watercolors can also be done with these pencils—and then some. In the most common water-soluble pencil technique, the color is applied dry and then moistened for a watercolor look (see Just Add Water, above). The advantage is that the dry application allows for much more control than is available with traditional brushed-on watercolors. Another option is for the artist to break off a bit of the water-soluble pencil point, place it on a palette and let the point absorb a few drops of water for about half an hour. This results in a medium that looks and acts exactly like watercolor

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squeezed from a tube. The artist can then create an underpainting or wash just as he or she would with watercolors. Color can also be taken directly from the water-soluble pencil tip with a brush and then applied to either wet or dry paper. Alternatively the color can be applied directly to a wet surface with a dry pencil or to a dry surface with a wet pencil point. Water-soluble pencil can also be combined with wax/oil-based pencil.

The possibilities are endless with colored pencil. That’s what makes it such an exciting, creative medium, especially for rebellious artists who refuse to “work loose.”