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paper. With a water saturated brush, extend the patch to about an inch or more. Then, tilt the paper back and forth so the sediment will migrate back and forth from saturated to diluted. After each test is dry, note that the grainiest ones contain the heaviest pigments and visa versa.

Using this knowledge of the paints, the techniques of each kind of wash should become more evident. The most basic is called the flat wash, where the paper is wet and covered with pigment in layered horizontal bands from top to bottom. After the wash is dried, no additional layers should be added. To make the layers a bit more gradual and of even gradients, more water may be added to the pigment. When pigment layers are added to the already dry wash, this is called glazing. Glazing is reminiscent of a wash, but instead uses a transparent pigment over an existing dry wash. Color and tone are the qualities adjusted with a glaze. Plain pigment applied to wet paper, versus the diluted version of the pigment, is denoted wet in wet. The outcome varies, from softly undefined shapes to only slightly blurred shapes. Dry brush is the polar opposite, using a pigment saturated brush and totally dry paper, producing a crisp and hard look. To lighten pigment, a technique called lifting off is used, where the area is dampened and then blotted with a tissue or strip of paper. White areas can be created in this manner, or in scraping out the paint or simply painting around the regions intended to be white. To use the bleeding technique and allow for the independence of the pigment to venture into unpredictable areas of the paper, simply drop color into a wet area of the paper. Using these techniques, all that's left is to choose your subject. And always remember that the greater the quantity of water, the lighter the tone and the more definable "water" color.

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