Characteristics, History, Artists – Artchive (2024)

Watercolor is an art medium where paint is made from pigments mixed with a binder that dissolves in water, creating beautiful textures and translucent effects when applied to paper. The term Watercolor refers to the paint, the art, as well as to the paintings created using this medium, however, it’s used mostly to refer to the paint.

The beauty of watercolor lies in its transparency and the ability it gives the artist to create layers of water and paint that capture light and shadows with unmatched grace. Unlike other mediums like oil and acrylic, the unique composition of watercolor makes it easier to use, being water-based and water-soluble, it does not pose many risks to the health of artists, it is also less messy and much more fluid, making blending and layering with it much easier.

Some of the most prominent characteristics of watercolors are the transparency of the paints, the opacity of the pigments, the granulation and texture that they create, and the lightfastness and permanence that makes them last for centuries. All of these affect the way the artwork is created and force the artist out of their comfort zone in matters of composition and techniques.

Techniques for working in watercolor range from very easy to quite difficult, from a ‘wet on wet’ approach, which is painting onto wet paper for soft diffused results, down to dry brush methods, which can achieve sharp, detailed effects. Watercolor artistry is one of the most flexible forms of art because an artist has a myriad of techniques to create different effects and textures and numerous combinations of colors.

The history of watercolor mimics the fluidity of the medium itself. From the ancient Paleolithic cave paintings to the 18th and early 19th centuries where watercolor became respected as an art of its own, watercolor has always been a constant in the art world. Nevertheless, it was only when it fell into the hands of masters like J.M.W. Turner and William Blake, that watercolor painting was truly born, paving the way for emerging contemporaries and modern painters to discover new horizons with what became a truly versatile medium.

What Are Watercolors?

Watercolors are a kind of paint used in art, which is water-soluble. They are composed of pigments dissolved in a water-based solution, usually a combination of water and a binder such as Gum Arabic. When used on a surface, typically paper, the water evaporates, leaving the pigment in place.

These paints commonly are sold in pans, half pans, and tubes. They can also be found in liquid form, or made as pencils and markers.

Watercolors are chosen for their aesthetic appeal and practicality, and are used in landscape, abstract, and fine art, as well as in illustration and design. They have a number of distinctive qualities that allow for a wide variety of expressive uses and remain a popular medium for artists of all levels.

Characteristics of Watercolors

Watercolor painting has a set of unique characteristics that differentiates it from other mediums like oils or acrylics, these characteristics not only define the physical and aesthetic properties of watercolor paints but also affect the techniques artists use in their work. Watercolors are known for their transparency, opacity, granulation, liftability, lightfastness, and ease of blending which we will explore in detail:

Opacity

The opacity of watercolors refers to how capable a paint is to cover what’s beneath it, or how much coverage a paint has. As we know, watercolors are naturally translucent, however, pigments are not all made the same way. Some pigments are naturally more opaque than others, like Cadmium-based pigments which are much more opaque than Quinacridone-based pigments.

Another thing that influences the opacity of watercolors is the paint concentration. Paint that comes straight out of the tube will be much more opaque than diluted paint from a pan.

In contrast with other mediums like acrylic, gouache, and oil paints, watercolor can’t really be considered truly “opaque”, however, some pigments do offer more coverage than others.

You can “read” or find the opacity of a pigment by checking the paint’s package information, you’ll usually see something like this:

Transparency

Transparency, on the other side, refers to the ability of the paint to allow light to pass through it and reflect on the paper, which means any layers beneath a transparent layer of paint can easily be seen through.

Transparent watercolors are much more luminous, hence better for combining new colors without losing brightness. They’re the best for layering and can be built upon, which means by applying multiple layers you can create beautiful deeper colors and play with lights and shadows.

Another advantage of transparency in watercolors is the ability that these pigments have to blend optically, which means you get different colors by layering them onto each other rather than by directly mixing them. This can only be appreciated properly when experimented directly, however, this example roughly shows, how optical mixing works:

Since the degree of transparency, a paint has depends more on the pigment than the medium, we can find transparent colors in acrylics, oils, and gouache too, although none of them will be as transparent as watercolors and will most likely need a diluting medium to create the layering effects inherent to watercolors.

Granulation

Granulation is a distinctive characteristic of watercolors, it’s an effect seen in watercolor paint when certain pigments fall into the crevices of the paper, creating a grainy texture. This happens because the pigments are heavier (denser), or irregular causing them to disperse unevenly on the paper creating a “granulation” effect.

Not all watercolor pigments granulate, the effect is more notorious in pigments like Ultramarine Blue, Raw Umber, and Burnt Sienna.

Synthetically-made pigments tend to granulate poorly or not granulate at all which is to the liking of some artists, however, granulation can add texture and a sense of depth to a painting, and it’s especially useful when painting natural elements like rocks, foliage, or the granular appearance of aged surfaces.

While granulation is a characteristic present in water-based mediums, it’s not as noticeable nor as beautiful as it is in watercolors. Oils and acrylics don’t exhibit this characteristic since their consistency is supposed to be smooth and buttery, gouache and ink on the other side might present some granulation but it’s generally avoided since it’s not as noticeable and means inconsistency for these mediums.

Staining or Liftability

One of the characteristics of watercolors that directly influence the different techniques used by artists the most is the staining capability of some pigments. Staining pigments are those that penetrate through the paper’s fibers and set permanently on them (at some degree at least) leaving a “stain” on the paper that is difficult to “lift” or remove using water or brushes. Non-staining pigments, on the contrary, tend to set on the surface of the paper and can be easily lifted or lightened using water even after drying. These pigments are much more forgiving than staining pigments allowing for corrections and changes.

Finer pigments tend to be more staining than larger particles and are much more durable and permanent than non-staining pigments, however, we must remember that the composition of the paper also plays a very important role in how much a pigment stains.

This characteristic is not only present in watercolors but in other mediums too, although it’s not used the same way. In watercolors, the liftability of a pigment decides how workable and/or permanent they are, however in oil painting and acrylics, they define how pigments combine with other colors and how they layer on top of each other.

Lightfastness

Lightfastness in watercolors as well as in most artistic mediums refers to the ability of the paint to stay as it is through long periods of time. Paint loses intensity and vibrancy over time or when exposed to light, be it sunlight, artificial or natural light, and although the quality of the binder and the paper plays a key role in how long a painting lasts, the pigment’s quality and inherent permanence plays the most important role.

Organic pigments tend to be less lightfast than pigments derived from minerals, and synthetic pigments also tend to be less lightfast than natural pigments, however, the nature of those pigments and their production process makes them much more expensive.

This characteristic is present in every medium since the pigment sources tend to be the same, however, watercolors being water-based and having much less pigment concentration tend to fade faster, making it even more important for artists to choose highly lightfast pigments.

What are Watercolors Made Of?

Watercolors are made of three components: Pigment, Binder, and Additives, each one influences how watercolors behave how long they last, and how transparent they are. Let’s learn more about them:

Pigment

Pigments are basically colors in powder, these finely ground particles provide color to the paint. They come from different sources like plants, minerals, animals, and can also be made synthetically. The source of the pigments doesn’t only determine the color and hue of the paint, but also other properties like transparency, lightfastness, and staining.

• Mineral Pigments: These are among the oldest pigments used by humans, sourced from naturally occurring minerals and clays. Examples include ochres, siennas, and umbers. They generally have good lightfastness and a more muted, natural range of colors.
• Synthetic Pigments: Developed during the industrial era, these pigments are created through chemical processes. Examples include cadmium reds and yellows, titanium white, and cobalt blue. They offer bright, intense colors and usually have excellent lightfastness.
• Organic Pigments: Derived from carbon-based molecules, these pigments can be natural (like indigo) or synthetic (like phthalocyanine blues and greens). They offer a wide range of vivid colors. Synthetic organic pigments often have high tinting strength and good lightfastness, but some natural organic pigments may fade over time.
• Metallic Pigments: These include actual metal powders or pearlescent substances and are used for special effects.

Binder

The binder is the substance that holds the pigment together before being activated with water and then helps it hold onto the paper afterward. While the most used binder for watercolors is gum Arabic, there are synthetically made binders that mimic the traditional gum Arabic properties but offer better consistency and longevity to the paint.

Gum Arabic is a clear, colorless gum that dissolves easily in water, it helps disperse the pigment evenly and maintains the paint fluidity.

In the extra ingredients, however, is where the secret of many of watercolor’s characteristics is. Two of the most used ingredients in watercolor paint-making are glycerin and honey, these are humectants, which means they help the watercolor paint retain moisture which makes the paint easier to re-wet and use after it has dried on the palette or in the pan.

Honey can also add to the richness and gloss of the paint, enhancing its texture and consistency.

Additives

Additives are additional ingredients that are sometimes added to improve the flexibility and prevent the paint from cracking when dry.

Among the most common, we find Ox gall (or similar synthetic alternatives), which is a wetting agent that helps reduce surface tension, improving the flow of the paint across the paper and its dispersion.

To prevent the growth of mold or bacteria (since gum Arabic is an organic material), preservatives like phenol or urea are also added in small quantities. Common plasticizers that are also added to watercolors include certain glycols, and in student-grade watercolors, extenders or fillers (like chalk or kaolin) may be added. They bulk up the volume of the paint without adding more pigment, making it cheaper but also less intense in color.

Solvents

The primary solvent needed for watercolors is, well, water, which is used to control the paint flow, transparency, and consistency. When using water, you can create a wide range of values, from very dark and saturated to very light and soft. Water can also be used to reactivate the paint that has dried on your palette and your paper. Artists use this to lift color and correct mistakes, to blend other colors, or to control the intensity of the paint after it dries.

While solvents are needed in other mediums to thin the paint, clean the brushes, and sometimes remove paint from a surface, watercolors only need water, taking away the health risks caused by the strong smell of the solvents and considerably reducing the messiness of the medium. Acrylic paint is also water-based, however in contrast with watercolors, acrylic becomes water-resistant once it dries, needing a solvent or a medium to be thinned or removed from the painting.

What Do You Need to Make Watercolor Art?

To make watercolor art you don’t need a lot of supplies, you only need watercolor paints, watercolor paper, watercolor brushes, a palette for mixing, clean water, and some accessories like masking fluid, a pencil, and erasers. But most importantly, the will and passion to learn, practice, and also, lots of patience or a heat gun to make the paint fry faster.

Watercolor Paint

Watercolor Paint is the first item fo the list because without it you wouldn’t be able to do any watercolor painting. But which brand? In what presentation? How many colors?

Let’s first talk about the different types and grades of paint:

There are different grades when it comes to art mediums, we have Student-grade paint, brushes, and even paper, which is meant to be used a lot, be it for testing different brands, thumbnailing, trying new techniques, sketching, color studies, etc. This paint is the most affordable, and easy to find but also the less durable, less lightfast, and less vibrant.

Then we have Professional-grade paint. This paint is specially made to be used by professional artists in pieces that are meant to be unique, be it for selling, exhibitions, galleries, etc. This paint is much more durable, lightfast, and has the best pigment quality, however is also much more expensive and sometimes harder to find.

You can find more about the different types, grades, and brands in our article: Best Watercolor Paint.

Watercolor Brushes

The second most important supply we need is brushes. Watercolor brushes are not like the rest, these brushes are specially designed to hold large amounts of water (and paint) for multiple washes. Although normal synthetic brushes can also be used for watercolors, they will run out of paint quickly and won’t be able to apply the color as beautifully as brushes for watercolors. Brushes can also be categorized by their shape and tip, for example:

• Round Brushes: They have a round, pointed tip. Versatile for both detailed work and broader strokes. Ideal for washes, fills, and fine lines.
• Flat Brushes: They’re flat, rectangular bristles with a straight edge. They’re great for bold, sweeping strokes and washes. Useful for creating sharp edges and covering large areas.
• Mop Brushes: These brushes are full, rounded brushes with bristles designed to hold a lot of water. Excellent for large washes and for wetting large areas of paper.
• Detail Brushes: These are brushes with tiny, fine tips for intricate work, perfect for adding fine details, like for botanical paintings or small spaces.
• Fan Brushes: Fan brushes have bristles that are spread out in a fan shape. They’re good for creating textures and smooth blending.
• Rigger Brushes: These are long, thin bristles, originally designed for painting the rigging on ships, they’re excellent for long, continuous lines.
• Angled Brushes: In these brushes, the bristles are cut at an angle. They’re useful for precise strokes and reaching tight spaces, offering good control for curves and lines.
• But shape is not everything, among the different types of brushes according to the material we can find:
• Natural Hair Brushes: Commonly made from sable, squirrel, or goat hair, these brushes are known for their superior ability to hold water and paint, allowing for smooth and even applications.

Sable brushes are often used for detailed work, while squirrel and goat hair brushes are great for washes and large strokes, however, natural hair brushes are much more expensive, with sable being among the most premium options.

• Synthetic Fiber Brushes: Made from man-made fibers such as nylon or polyester, these brushes are less absorbent than natural hair, but they maintain their shape well and offer good spring and control. They are also more durable and easier to clean. These brushes are suitable for all levels, are much more affordable and are a cruelty-free option.
• Blend Brushes:A mix of natural and synthetic fibers, these brushes offer the best of both worlds – the water-holding capacity of natural hair with the durability and spring of synthetic fibers. Although not as affordable as synthetic brushes, they’re often priced between high-end natural brushes and lower-cost synthetics, offering a balance of quality and affordability.
• For artists, having a mix of high-quality brushes and synthetic sets is key, having a good detail and mop brush of natural hair or a blend while other brushes for texture and general painting is the ideal combination. Also, take into consideration that while natural hair brushes are better for watercolors, they need maintenance, more care, and special storage, on the other side, synthetic brushes are easier to handle and great for both pros and beginners.

You can find all you need to know about brushes for watercolor in our article: Best Watercolor Brushes.

Watercolor Paper

Watercolor paper is paper that has been designed specifically for watercolors. This paper is characterized by its thickness, absorbency, and texture, which are made to handle the large amounts of water used with the medium.

Watercolor paper undergoes a process called sizing, where a sizing medium (like gelatin) is added to the pulp to make it resistant to water, making it so the paper absorbs water and pigment without tearing, breaking, or warping (too much), allowing the paint to easily flow and blend. The sizing process can also be applied to the paper’s surface so it holds the water better, this is called external sizing.

This paper is also much thicker and heavier, going from 90 to 250 lbs or more, which allows for multiple washes and wet-on-wet techniques. Depending on the texture, we can classify watercolor paper as:

• Cold-Pressed: Cold-pressed paper is paper that has been made by pressing the paper through cold cylinders, leaving a soft, but notorious texture on it. The texture is good for a variety of techniques since the surface makes it easy to control the watercolors, making it popular among artists and the perfect starter point for beginners. This paper is ideal for a variety of applications, from landscapes and portraits to abstract pieces. Its texture is fine enough for detailed work while still allowing for interesting textural effects.
• Hot-Pressed: Hot-pressed paper is made by running the paper through heated rollers, resulting in a very smooth and even surface. The texture is almost non-existent, which is good for some techniques but at the same time, it doesn’t have the high absorbency levels like cold pressed paper. This paper is great for detailed work, botanical painting, illustration, and lettering.
• Rough: Rough watercolor paper is made traditionally by being left to dry on its own, creating an interesting, rich texture that is preferred by many artists. This paper is usually heavier and thicker, which means it handles water better, but it’s more difficult to control the paint’s flow when painting with watercolors.

We go more in-depth about all this in our article Best Watercolor Paper where you’ll find all the information you need to know about paper and some of what we believe are the best brands of watercolor paper in the market today.

Types of Watercolor Paints

Tube Watercolors:

They come packed in tubes, from 12 to 48 tubes presentations, in a soft, paste-like form, ideal for mixing large quantities of paint and getting both vibrant and subtle colors.

They’re easier to mix, allowing you to make your own custom colors in larger quantities; great for beginners who are just learning about color mixing and pros who need different hues. They can dry out if left open, so be careful, but thanks to their quick drying, you can make your own pans that are easily reactivated with water.

Pan Watercolors:

This is the most popular paint presentation, they come in full pans and half pans. They are solid blocks of paint that activate with water, commonly used for sketching, travel, and outdoor painting. They’re very portable, convenient, and mess-free, half pans are smaller, making them even more portable and easy to carry around.

Liquid Watercolors:

Liquid watercolors are the rarest watercolor presentation. They’re available in a fluid, highly pigmented form, perfect for smooth washes, large areas, and vibrant, intense colors.

One of the advantages of this presentation is that the high pigment concentration allows for vibrant results, but it can also be diluted with water for lighter washes. On the downside, they’re harder to find, difficult to control, and typically more expensive than tubes and pans.

Watercolor Techniques

There are many different techniques for painting watercolors, including Wet-on-Wet, Dry Brushing, Wet-on-Dry, Blotting, Under-painting, and more.

For a full list, see our guide on Watercolor Techniques.

Wet-On-Wet Technique

The wet-on-wet technique involves applying several large loads of watercolor paint onto a very wet surface. This results in colors flowing into one another, creating smooth color transitions and soft edges.

This technique is one of the most used in watercolor painting. However, it is also one of the most challenging techniques for beginners. Perfect for making gradients, landscapes, and beautiful skies.

Dry Brushing Technique

Dry brushing in watercolor means using a brush that is relatively dry but still holds paint to make quick, rough traces that create sharp, textured effects.

This technique is great for adding tree bark, grass, rocks, or sand texture, and it’s often used in landscape painting to add realism and depth.

Wet-on-Dry Technique

The We On Dry technique involves applying wet paint onto dry paper. This technique allows for more control over the paint, leading to clear, crisp edges. This is one of the easiest and simplest techniques and the most used by beginners, perfect for defined shapes, detailed work, and architectural design.

Blotting Watercolor Technique

Blotting is a technique that is used to lighten a color, add light effects, or fix mistakes in watercolors by removing pigment with a wet sponge or cloth. This technique is used in different stages of the painting, however, you must remember that the wetness of the paint will affect the outcome of the technique, so make sure to experiment first on a piece of discarded paper.

Underpainting Technique

Underpainting is a technique used in watercolors where a first layer of paint is applied to the paper as a base for other layers. This initial layer sets the tone and foundation for the painting, offering depth, richness, and cohesion to the final piece. Experimenting with different underpainting hues can lead to interesting effects. For example, a warm underpainting can add a sense of warmth to the scene, even if the final colors are cool.

History of Watercolor

Watercolor painting dates back to the early Paleolithic period, when people painted images of humans and animals on cave walls with natural pigments such as ochre and charcoal. The discovery of papyrus led to its prominence in Egyptian art. Papyrus has a fragile nature, so only the paintings buried in dry pyramids have survived from the Ancient Egyptian era. The first watercolors were created in ancient Chinese art circa 4,000 BCE, primarily for decorative purposes. By the 4th century CE, watercolor landscapes were well-established as a distinct genre of Chinese painting, and they would ultimately dominate all brush painting in China. Watercolors were utilized in Europe during the Middle Ages to produce color maps and illuminated manuscripts. They were employed to create studies of nature or tiny portraits during the Renaissance art period.

Watercolor Painting in the 15^th and 16^th Centuries

The Northern Renaissance is credited for inspiring modern watercolor painting. The first great practitioner of it was the German painter Albrecht Durer, whose stunning plant studies and landscapes foreshadowed many of the English watercolor methods. Durer was among the first artists to realize this medium’s possibilities. In his early watercolors, he mostly concentrated on presenting the landscape; nevertheless, as time passed, he began to emphasize the atmosphere much more. He created incredibly lifelike nature studies, usually combining gouache and watercolor on paper. Despite the diligence of artists from the Flemish and Dutch Baroque schools, the medium was mostly limited to large-scale preparatory sketches or design drawings until the arrival of English watercolorists in the late 18^th century, except illustrations of plants or animals, which gave rise to a specialized watercolor tradition of its own.

19^th Century English School of Watercolorists

The popularity of watercolor painting during the 18th century, especially in England, was influenced by several reasons. Watercolor painting was considered an incidental but valuable addition to a good education among the wealthy and aristocrats. Military officers, Mapmakers, and engineers appreciated its practical applications in representing properties, terrain, fortifications, field geology, and commissioned projects. The Society of Dilettanti (established in 1733) funded watercolor artists to be taken on geological or archeological expeditions to record findings in Asia, the Mediterranean, and the New World. These trips increased the demand for topographical watercolor painters, who produced souvenir paintings of well-known locations.

Three English artists are recognized for having established watercolor as a separate, developed painting medium: Joseph Mallord William Turner, who elevated watercolor painting to an unparalleled level of power and affluence and produced hundreds of exceptional historical, topographical, architectural, mythological and watercolor paintings; Paul Sandby, who is frequently referred to as the “father of the English watercolor”; and Thomas Girtin invented watercolor use for large-scale landscape paintings in romantic or picturesque styles. His piece-by-piece watercolor technique—starting with broad, hazy areas of color drawn on wet paper, then refining the image with a series of glazes and washes—allowed him to produce vast numbers of paintings with “workshop efficiency.” This group operated during the so-called Golden Age of Watercolor, which spanned the late 18th and mid-19th centuries. At first, the painters could only use colored washes in their paintings. This ink or pencil sketch has been tinted with water and a brush to spread the ink. Although a limited palette of colors was permitted, the final result was largely monochrome.

While some artists kept producing drawings with tints, others started to experiment. Artists like Turner, John Warwick Smith, Thomas Girtin, and William Pars started utilizing a broader palette of bolder colors to achieve a more painterly appearance. Watercolors quickly gained popularity across the United Kingdom due to an increase in wildlife and plant paintings; new requests for plein-air painters to imitate the landscapes and scenes of military and tourist sites, as well as to accompany archaeological and anthropological expeditions around the world to capture images of flora and fauna. The paint was applied with a freer brushstroke on rough-textured paper to represent transient effects in the landscape. Prominent landscape painters who utilized watercolor included David Cox, Samuel Prout, and Cornelius Varley.

Europe

Watercolor became more common throughout the rest of Europe thanks to the English school’s impact. The Italian landscape painters Francesco Zuccarelli and Marco Ricci used gouache as a significant medium in the eighteenth century. French artists also employed gouache in their works. French painter Paul Cézanne, one of the most influential artists of the 19th century and the forerunner of modern art, created a style for watercolor paintings exclusively composed of overlapping, tiny glazes of pure color. Cézanne transformed how we record and see the world, which profoundly impacted the evolution of European art. Other French artists included the satirical Honoré Daumier, François Marius Granet, Henri-Joseph Harpignies, and Eugène Delacroix.

United States

Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, watercolor painting gained popularity in the United States thanks to the development of better paper and color-making technologies. Because strict English conventions did not bind them, American artists were more eager to experiment with watercolor. In contrast to European artists, they saw watercolor as a fundamental media on par with oils since they could test and develop a distinctive style with it.

John James Audubon and early Hudson River School painters like George Harvey and William H. Bartlett were notable early practitioners. By the middle of the 20th century, watercolors had become more popular due to the influence of John Ruskin, especially because of the intricate “Ruskinian” style used by artists like Fidelia Bridges, William Trost Richards, John W. Hill Henry, and Roderick Newman. The American Watercolor Society, formerly known as the American Society of Painters in Watercolor, was established in 1866. American medium practitioners in the late 19th century included Childe Hassam, Winslow Homer, John LaFarge, Thomas Moran, and Thomas Eakins.

Watercolor Artists

Some of the most prominent watercolor artists include Winslow Homer, John Singer Sargent, Georgia O’Keeffe, Paul Klee, and Elizabeth Murray, and others.

See more info on these artists below. For a longer list of popular watercolor artists, see our full guide on Watercolor Artists.

Winslow Homer

Winslow Homer (1836-1910) is widely regarded as one of the foremost figures in 19th-century American art, celebrated not only for his oil paintings but also for his mastery in watercolor. Homer’s watercolor works are noted for their technical innovation and expressive power, often capturing the dynamic forces of nature and the beauty of the American landscape. His watercolor paintings from the 1870s onwards, such as scenes of the sea, fishermen, and rural America, demonstrate a remarkable use of color and light, setting a precedent for the medium that influenced future generations.

Read more here: Winslow Homer Artwork and Biography.

John Singer Sargent

John Singer Sargent (1856-1925), was an American artist and is best known for his stunning portraits in oil, but his watercolors reveal a more spontaneous and fluid aspect of his talent. Sargent’s watercolor works are celebrated for their luminosity and vitality, capturing subjects ranging from Venetian canals to Arabian deserts with a remarkable immediacy and precision. His mastery of the medium is evident in the way he manipulates light and color, creating compositions that are both vivid and ephemeral.

Read more here: John Singer Sargent Artwork and Biography.

Georgia O’Keeffe

Georgia O’Keeffe (1887-1986), primarily known for her large-scale paintings of flowers and New Mexico landscapes, also explored the medium of watercolor early in her career. Her watercolor paintings from the 1910s exhibit a blend of abstraction and representation, with a focus on simplified forms and a dynamic interplay of colors. These works underscore her innovative approach to capturing the essence of her subjects, contributing to her reputation as a pioneering figure in American modernism.

Read more here: Georgia O’Keeffe Artwork and Biography.

Paul Klee

Paul Klee (1879-1940), a Swiss-German artist associated with the Bauhaus school, is celebrated for his exploratory use of color theory and diverse artistic techniques, including watercolor. Klee’s watercolors are characterized by their imaginative compositions, whimsical figures, and intricate use of line and color. His work in the medium reflects his belief in the symbolic and expressive power of color, making him a key figure in the development of 20th-century abstract art.

Read more here: Paul Klee Artwork and Biography.

Elizabeth Murray

Elizabeth Murray (1940-2007) was an American painter known for her vibrant, shaped canvases that broke the boundaries of traditional painting. While primarily recognized for her work in oils and acrylics, Murray also incorporated elements of watercolor into her practice, using the medium to explore form, color, and spatial relationships in her distinctive, cartoonish style. Her contributions to contemporary art extend beyond her innovative canvases, as she continually challenged the conventions of painting and the use of color in her compositions.

Read more here: Elizabeth Murray Artwork and Biography.