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The Wet Edge

Field notes on watercolour: paper, pigment, water and light

A printed season calendar pinned to a studio wall beside a stretched watercolour sheet, north light from a window, a brush resting on the paper, close crop on the date grid and the wet edge of the sheet.
Latest entry on the rack ST-001 A printed season calendar pinned to a studio wall beside a stretched watercolour sheet, north light from a window, a brush resting on the paper, close crop on the date grid and the wet edge of the sheet.

The Wet Edge

Every entry on this bench takes one question about watercolour and answers it: what a single-pigment tube actually does on a cold-pressed sheet, why one edge of a wash dries hard and the other disappears, how a value study survives a sky that changes every ten minutes, and what a studio owes a class, an exhibition and an edition. An entry is written from the standards, the manufacturer literature, the conservation publications and the museum catalogues that were actually read, then filed under one of four rubrics: pigments and paper, water and washes, ground and light, studio and print. Nothing here is for sale.

An independent English-language journal on watercolour practice: paper and pigment, water and washes, painting outdoors, and the studio behind prints, teaching and exhibitions.

Latest entries

6 / 6Open the slice
A printed season calendar pinned to a studio wall beside a stretched watercolour sheet, north light from a window, a brush resting on the paper, close crop on the date grid and the wet edge of the sheet.
A printed season calendar pinned to a studio wall beside a stretched watercolour sheet, north light from a window, a brush resting on the paper, close crop on the date grid and the wet edge of the sheet.

ST-001Studio and print

Name

How to Read an Arts Calendar

An arts calendar is a working document. Learn to read exhibition openings, class listings, and season posters without wasting a trip.

Particulars
Studio and print · 1378 words · 1 source
Caveat
this entry cites only csuchico.edu
A ring binder open on a wooden table beside a pencil and a folded concert programme, late afternoon window light falling across the page, shot from slightly above.
A ring binder open on a wooden table beside a pencil and a folded concert programme, late afternoon window light falling across the page, shot from slightly above.

ST-002Studio and print

Name

Documenting a Season of Community Song

How a community arts group records its season: rehearsal logs, teaching notes and concert records, and what a paper trail is worth to the next singer.

Particulars
Studio and print · 925 words · 2 sources
Caveat
this entry cites only loc.gov, si.edu
A wooden paint box open on a flat rock beside a river, a stretched sheet of watercolour paper on a board, a capped water container, morning light from the left, wide shot.
A wooden paint box open on a flat rock beside a river, a stretched sheet of watercolour paper on a board, a capped water container, morning light from the left, wide shot.

GR-002Ground and light

Name

Planning a Painting Day Like a Shoot Day

A painting day outdoors runs on the same logic as a small film shoot: light window, travel, setup, safety, and a plan that survives weather.

Particulars
Ground and light · 861 words · 1 source
Caveat
this entry cites only timeanddate.com
A low sun over a sloping French field in late autumn, wet ground reflecting a cool sky, a painter's board tilted to match the land, framed from a low angle.
A low sun over a sloping French field in late autumn, wet ground reflecting a cool sky, a painter's board tilted to match the land, framed from a low angle.

GR-001Ground and light

Name

Reading French Light for Watercolour

How to read a French landscape for watercolour: light, water season, and slope. A guide for painters who want to understand a gesture before repeating it.

Particulars
Ground and light · 1044 words · 2 sources
Caveat
this entry cites only meteofrance.com, ign.fr
A stretched watercolour sheet on a wooden board outdoors in cold dry wind, one wash half matte and half glossy, a round brush resting on the paper, low afternoon light raking across the tooth.
A stretched watercolour sheet on a wooden board outdoors in cold dry wind, one wash half matte and half glossy, a round brush resting on the paper, low afternoon light raking across the tooth.

WA-001Water and washes

Name

Cold Dry Air and Wind: How a Wash Dries

Cold dry air and wind pull water from a watercolour wash faster than a still studio. The edge closes sooner, the paper cools, and the timing of every pass

Particulars
Water and washes · 846 words · 1 source
Caveat
this entry cites only britannica.com
A used hardback open at forty-five degrees on a plain wooden table beside a loupe and a small stack of kraft paper, with low window light raking across the spine and hinges.
A used hardback open at forty-five degrees on a plain wooden table beside a loupe and a small stack of kraft paper, with low window light raking across the spine and hinges.

PG-001Pigments and paper

Name

Buying Secondhand Books at a Distance

How to buy used books remotely: where to look, how to read a seller's description and title page, and which payment and shipping terms to verify before money

Particulars
Pigments and paper · 1149 words · 2 sources
Caveat
this entry cites only kb.nl, iso.org

The slices of the repertory

An independent English-language journal on watercolour practice: paper and pigment, water and washes, painting outdoors, and the studio behind prints, teaching and exhibitions.

A used hardback open at forty-five degrees on a plain wooden table beside a loupe and a small stack of kraft paper, with low window light raking across the spine and hinges.
A used hardback open at forty-five degrees on a plain wooden table beside a loupe and a small stack of kraft paper, with low window light raking across the spine and hinges.

PG 1 entry

Pigments and paper

Single pigments, granulation, lightfastness, paper weight, sizing and surface, stretching a sheet and how a finished painting is stored.

PG-001

A stretched watercolour sheet on a wooden board outdoors in cold dry wind, one wash half matte and half glossy, a round brush resting on the paper, low afternoon light raking across the tooth.
A stretched watercolour sheet on a wooden board outdoors in cold dry wind, one wash half matte and half glossy, a round brush resting on the paper, low afternoon light raking across the tooth.

WA 1 entry

Water and washes

Wet in wet, wet on dry, hard and soft edges, blooms, lifting, glazing and the timing that decides which wash is possible today.

WA-001

A wooden paint box open on a flat rock beside a river, a stretched sheet of watercolour paper on a board, a capped water container, morning light from the left, wide shot.
A wooden paint box open on a flat rock beside a river, a stretched sheet of watercolour paper on a board, a capped water container, morning light from the left, wide shot.

GR 2 entries

Ground and light

Choosing what to paint outdoors: rivers, coast, forest and weather, the plein air kit, sketching on site and reading values in changing light.

GR-002GR-001

A printed season calendar pinned to a studio wall beside a stretched watercolour sheet, north light from a window, a brush resting on the paper, close crop on the date grid and the wet edge of the sheet.
A printed season calendar pinned to a studio wall beside a stretched watercolour sheet, north light from a window, a brush resting on the paper, close crop on the date grid and the wet edge of the sheet.

ST 2 entries

Studio and print

The working studio: teaching a class, hanging an exhibition, making prints and artist books, framing, archiving and pricing an edition.

ST-001ST-002

Alphabetical index of entries

6 letters · 6 entries
B
C
D
H
P
R

How an entry is written

One question, one entry, one scene photographed for it and captioned as such. The answer comes first, then the sections a reader can jump to, then the sources the desk actually read. An entry is revised when the standard, the paper specification or the conservation guidance changes, and its date says when it was last checked.

  • britannica.com
  • csuchico.edu
  • ign.fr
  • iso.org
  • kb.nl
  • loc.gov
  • meteofrance.com
  • si.edu
  • timeanddate.com

Other notebooks on the shelf

0

Desks kept elsewhere that answer a question this journal only brushes. Each one was read before it was shelved here, and each is named for what it holds.

the referral rack is empty in this edition